About
Hi, we’re Bec and Sarah, aka Fat Fruit. Two queer performance artists from Footscray, Naarm who make comedic radical art with music at the centre. We create accessible transgressions; queer new worlds where everyone is welcome and anything is possible. We disrupt. We dismantle. We punch up.
This website is your access to us. Fat Fruit are open to new commissions and collaborations; we have shows already available; you can buy tickets to current seasons, and book us to MC or perform. Or just hang out and luxuriate in our oeuvre.
We’ve worked together since 2006, and officially adopted the name Fat Fruit in 2021. You can find our previous performances under past works.
‘An energised vision of queer and accessible futures’
Anders Furze, The Daily Review
‘If you find them performing anywhere, run, don’t walk’
Jens, Weekend Notes
‘This show acts as a model for how to provide access in a creative way’
Asphyxia
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION
As queer artists with a lived experience of neurodivergence and mental health challenges, accessibility and inclusion is front and centre of our practice, in both the making and sharing of ideas and art. Fat Fruit consciously explores ways to make music and performance meaningfully accessible for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences, through consultation and collaboration with the community and experimentation with technology.
SUSTAINABILITY
We aim to bring to the stage a comment on sustainability while actively living our politics. Fat Fruit create costumes and set from repurposing, recycling and reimagining. Our Fuck Fabulous, Fart Fabulous and Fuck Christmas projects have this ideal firmly embedded. We consider the environment in all aspects of our practice.
COLLABORATIONS
We’re not just the shows we make ourselves, we’re the shows we create with others. We are actively working in the space of making deeply inclusive work and are interested in collaborating with artists, organisations, festivals and venues to create shows, events or workshops.
Biographies
THE SPACE AROUND YOU
The Space Around You is an award winning short documentary by Rainer Kelly capturing the busy lives of creative couple Bec Matthews and Sarah Ward. Then the pandemic hits.
SARAH WARD
Sarah Ward is a Helpmann Award winning Cabaret Artist, Actor, Teacher and Creative Producer. She was a recipient of the Australia Council Fellowship for Community Arts and Cultural Development in 2022-2024.
She is best known for Yana Alana, her one-time feminist performance poet alter-ego and cabaret character. With her band Tha Paranas, Yana toured the world for a decade from Copenhagen to London, New Zealand to Berlin, The Seychelles to Nhill.
Outside of Fat Fruit, Sarah is a versatile physically embodied film and stage actor, most recently seen as Bobby in Patricia Cornelius and Susie Dee’s independent feature film SHIT, reprising her role from the stage production.
Other highlights: touring the globe with Circus OZ, La Soiree and Finucane & Smith. National touring with Retro Futurismas, Yummy, Arena Theatre Company, Hayes Theatre and Melbourne Workers Theatre.
In 2001, after graduating from Actors Centre Australia, Sarah co-created Sista She with Candy and Kim Bowers, a genre busting hip-hop cabaret act that toured arts and music festivals around Australia.
BEC MATTHEWS
Bec Matthews is a percussionist, drummer, performer, teacher, musical director, sound designer, noisemaker, theatre maker and mischief maker with a Bachelor of Music (orchestral percussion) from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Bec toured as a permanent member of the Circus Oz ensemble from 2010 to 2014, is co-creator of the multi award-winning act Yana Alana and Tha Paranas and Musical Director, Sound Designer and Access Coordinator for Queen Kong and the HOMOsapiens.
Bec has been a regular collaborator with The Flying Fruit Fly Circus in the capacity of Sound Designer, Musical Director and Song Writing Mentor and has also worked with MTC, VCA, Reuben Kaye, Women’s Circus, Melbourne Workers Theatre, Hayes Theatre, Musica Viva, ArtPlay and The Funatorium.
In recent years Bec has been exploring ways to increase access to music for the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing and creating inclusive performance and learning environments for neurodivergent people.
CREATIVE COUPLES
ABC SHORT DOCUMENTARY
SELECTED AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
2023
Greenroom Award Nomination
Best Musical Direction The Rainbow Tree
2022
Greenroom Award
Best Cabaret Fu*k Fabulous
2020
Greenroom Award Nomination
Best Cabaret Artiste, Writing,
Original Songs, Production and Design for The Legend Of Queen Kong
2016
Greenroom Award
Best Musical Direction
2015
Best Cabaret Adelaide Fringe Festival
2014
Helpmann Best Cabaret Artist
2013
Greenroom Award
Best Cabaret Artist and Production
Between The Cracks
2010
Greenroom Award Best Production, Artist, Ensemble, Music, Music Direction In Concert
2008
Greenroom Award Best Cabaret Artist
2007
Greenroom Award Best Director Bite Me
Best Cabaret Melbourne Fringe Festival
PRODUCED & COMMISSIONED SEASONS
2024
Fuck Christmas, produced by the Malthouse Theatre.
2023
Stranger Than Usual, produced by the Midsumma Festival.
The Rainbow Tree tour, produced by WorldPride and Darlinghurst Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, Geelong Arts Centre, Bunjil Place, Bendigo Engine Room and The Memo in Healesville.
2022
Fart Fabulous, commissioned and produced by the Flying Fruit Fly Circus and Rising Festival.
The Rainbow Tree, produced by Darebin Speakeasy.
2021
Fuck Fabulous, commissioned and produced by Arts Centre Melbourne.
The Rainbow Tree premiere season, commissioned and produced by Artplay and Midsumma Festival.
Over 60 Under 10 Songwriting Project, produced by The Melbourne Fringe.
2020
Fuck Fabulous, commissioned and produced by The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
2019
The Legend Of Queen Kong (inclusion of access), produced by Arts Centre Melbourne.
2018
The Legend Of Queen Kong premiere season, commissioned and produced by The Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
Collaborators
Fat Fruit regularly collaborates with Susie Dee (Director/Directorial Eye), Monique Aucher (Lighting Designer), Asphyxia, Chris Bennett from Underground Media (Videographer), The Flying Fruit Fly Circus and Pauline Cady (creating bespoke processes for creative entities). Fat Fruit have also collaborated with the theatre company Asking For Trouble, specifically on their project Art Attack.
Supporters
