Cityscape talks to the king of creative chaos, Tom Flanagan, aka Kaput, about the importance of cold beer and the upside of keeping his mouth shut.

Sounds like you must have a clowning background? I think I was born a clown. Luckily for me, years in the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, a children’s circus school in Australia, and working with clowns I admire have honed my skills so that I might now get paid for my idiocy.

So how are you when it comes to real DIY? Everything in our house that is broken will get the Tom treatment before I even think about calling an expert (with the exception of electrical and plumbing – some things you don’t want to take chances on). I’ve fixed overheating engines on the beach with a pair of scissors and a fork, built houses from timber I’ve milled, and revolutionised my father’s bush dunny (outdoor toilet). And definitely don’t ask me to plaster a wall. I try to make sure my real DIY efforts end more successfully and are less hilarious than in the show, but one can never guarantee this to be the case.

I’m picking you’ve taken some inspiration from the likes of Eric Sykes in The Plank and Jacques Tati? Oh I definitely admit Sykes and Tati, but a lot of the plank inspiration came from Norman Wisdom and Bruce Forsyth. More than anything I’m constantly inspired by my peers, the ones I get to see in the flesh – Captain Frodo, Gareth Bjaaland, Derek Ives and Mooky Cornish to name a few.

Your show looks very physical – what do you do to prepare for a performance? And to warm down afterwards? After years of working on really demanding acrobatic shows, Kaput is a bit more kind on my body. I still need to make sure I stretch and warm up. I get into trouble a bit forgetting to warm down after. The clean-up after the show can be pretty involved (wait till you see the mess I make), and if there is a local beer waiting in my dressing room after the show, the only cooldown I’ll remember to do is the beer coming out of the fridge and into my mouth.

Have you ever injured yourself in performance? And if so, did the audience notice? There are going to be injuries in physical shows – it’s part of the job description. I do everything I can to make sure I’m safe from my own chaos but sometimes accidents happen. Recently I managed to get my thumb caught in some sticky tape and ended up having to wear a splint for months. I know: sticky tape seems harmless after doing backsaults from the tops of ladders, doesn’t it? I don’t think the audience noticed, I’d like to think that I covered it pretty charmingly until after the performance when I really felt the pain changing my son’s nappy while he wrestled me to the death.

Fringe festivals have been good to you – what’s been your oddest audience moment? Oh, I have many odd moments. My whole show is odd moments, especially where the audience is involved. I cannot even begin to pull one out. I can guarantee that if you come to a show you will witness one for yourself.

The good thing about silent performance is that there is no language barrier, so that must have opened many doors for you? One of my favourite things about silent clowning is the different communities you can reach, and just how much communication really is free of words. Recently I did a gig for an audience with a good bunch of deaf people. They picked up on tiny gags everyone else misses, and I loved that. I try as much as possible to reach out to non-English speaking communities, deaf communities and hard of hearing communities. Theatre can be a really closed-off medium for these people and I want to make sure my show is as accessible to everyone as possible regardless of physical abilities, language, culture and age.

How much do you know about New Zealand and Christchurch? Been here before? Oh I love New Zealand. We were holidaying in Christchurch earlier this year and stayed in Lyttelton for a good chunk
of it. And I especially love your Prime Minister. Our mob could learn a fair bit from your mob.

What does the rest of 2019 have in store for you? Tours around New Zealand, Japan, Australia (especially rural Australia, which is my favourite), writing a new show and, oh yes – almost forgot – having a baby!

Kaput
Jan 11 – Jan 20 | The Backstage Social Club – Arts Centre
breadandcircus.co.nz

Image: Sean Young