This is the story of a man named Rasthomas Bulge, a used car salesman with a sudden inkling he’s doing nothing with his life. On a day like any other, our unlikely hero finds himself catapulted into an impossible journey across time and space.
Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne’s novel and the tradition of adventure fiction, performer-puppeteers Harry McGee and Cooper Donald McDonald bring this original story to life through light, paper, pipe cleaners, cellophane, a synth and live illustration.
Armed with a couple of paperclips and stencils McGee and McDonald layer the story's elements on top of each other to create the city, the sea, the machine and the moon, with songs and live composition by Yanto Shortis.
A lo-fi act of theatre magic, Twenty Million Thousand Leagues Under the Sea invites audiences on an imaginative and heart warming journey around the world, to the bottom of the ocean, up to the moon and back again.
Created by Harry McGee and Cooper Donald McDonald
Performed by Harry McGee, Cooper Donald McDonald and Yanto Shortis
Sound design by Yanto Shortis
Dramaturgy by Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta and Mark Pritchard
Performed at Trades Hall as a part of Melbourne Fringe 2024 , New Theatre as a part of Sydney Fringe 2025
Nominated Melbourne Fringe Awards 2024 - Best in Theatre
Nominated Sydney Fringe Awards 2025 - Best in Theatre
Nominated Green Room Awards 2025 - Outstanding Production, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Sound Design
Winner NSW Touring Award 2024
Winner Green Rooms Award 2025 - Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Sound Design
Documentation Florence Albert