The award-winning musical cabaret Little Squirt returns to Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2026 to celebrate its 100th performance and three-year anniversary.
How would you describe your show to someone who knows very little about it?
One man, dressed as a sea man and stranded on an island, sings about donating sperm as he questions his own identity and the ethics of bringing children into an uncertain world.
What makes it stand out and why should people see it?
This is our hundredth performance of the show! We’ve won six theatre awards, toured internationally and now we’re back home to celebrate three years of existential nautical musical chaos at the festival where it all started.
How long was the process from idea to writing to stage? Any challenges along the way?
Most of the show came together in three months at the end of 2022, followed by a couple more months of development into our 2023 Fringe premiere. Since then, the biggest challenge has been finding the time, money and emotional bandwidth to keep making art, and figuring out where to make sacrifices. Touring and learning the business of the industry has its own particular flavour of existential crisis, as creative relationships and circumstances evolve. It’s been an incredibly rewarding three years.
What attracts you to Fringe?
The Fringe community is splendid. It’s a melting pot of magnetic, rowdy risk-takers who stake their time and their souls on bold new ideas every year, and keep coming back for more. It’s one of the best cults to be a part of, where artists are their own charismatic leaders and blissfully tormented followers.
How would you describe your relationship with the audience and what do you love the most about live performance?
I’m in love with the audience. Live theatre is a deep and passionate love affair. My greatest wish is to hold their metaphorical hands as we traverse a heartfelt and tender story, to laugh and to cry together, to both come out the other side changed, and eager for another.
Who would you say have been your biggest inspirations?
A neighbour who once knocked over my sea monkeys has inspired me the most, to exact an elaborate long-term revenge in which I get verrrry famous and share his betrayal on live television as the whole world watches, so that he finally feels regret for ever laying a finger on those innocent creatures in their little jar on my desk.
What are three things that would surprise people to learn about you?
I’m born on Leap Day… SURPRISE! I think picking your nose is one of life’s greatest and most underrated joys… SURPRISE! And I’ve started carrying around a little pouch of birdseed wherever I go in case there are ever pigeons to feed.
What do you love to most about performing at Melbourne Fringe?
Performing at Melbourne Fringe is like bringing a meal to a potluck dinner and getting to eat all your friends’ amazing and terrible cooking. Then the night ends and you’re like, “This was incredible, when are we doing it again?” and the host says, “Next year, diva. Get cooking.”
What comes after the Fringe Festival for you?
Writing, writing, writing, writing. Don’t let me procrastinate. I need one of you to lock the door and bring me little treats until I’m done. I’m serious.
Following an international tour, writer and performer Darby James returns to the festival where the show premiered in 2023. This heartfelt and hilarious one-man musical comedy explores sperm donation, queer parenthood, and unconventional pathways to starting a family.
October 14
melbournefringefestival.com.au
