Damian Callinan: Double Feature, Hey Boss
State Theatre Centre Rehearsal Room, 27 January 2023

My dad kept a journal, and after he died we read through its pages – the big things and little things that tumbled together to construct his life.

Almost invariably, once Mum and he finished their nightly game of table tennis or darts, he’d sign off with the result (there would have been some brutal contests) and, finally, he’d write  “Another happy day”.

I only mention it because Kathleen and Adrian Callinan, Damian Callinan’s mum and dad, both kept diaries too, and, as he leafs through their lives and love in his sweet, sad, wonderful Double Feature, I could imagine them signing off many times with the same sentiment.

And there was much to be happy about as young, bright-eyed Melburnians looked to the future after the privations of the Depression and the cataclysm of World War II.

Times may have been tight, but there were dances and outings – and there were the movies, especially the weekend double features.

For Kathleen, fresh out of Sacred Heart, Preston and Santa Maria in Northcote, there was family, work, the church – and there were boys at the dances and movies, quite a Melbourne Cup field for pretty Kathleen until one, just out of the RAAF, caught more than just her eye.

That was Adrian, and for both of them, it was a match for life, through work and kids (Damian is the youngest of five), retirement at home and then a village.

And there’s a tragedy, one too deep to reveal here, but even then there is the love and laughter of good people in a good place and time.

Callinan is an expert entertainer, here, quite literally, giving the performance of his life. A humorist more than “just” a comedian, he inhabits himself, he’s stepped right out of his own life and on to the stage.   

The production is beautifully mounted, in the style of the cinema Kathleen would watch of a Saturday. It’s a slow burn as he brings you to his story and draws you into it.

He laughs with you at its funny moments (there are so many) and when he has cause to shed a tear, there couldn’t possibly be a dry eye in the house.

This is my show of Fringe World thus far – it’s got a decently long run, so you’ve got plenty of opportunities not to miss it. Don’t.

Once you’ve seen Double Feature, you can read more about the story and how Callinan brought it to the stage.

Damian Callinan: Double Feature continues until 5 February 2023.

Pictured top: Damian Callinan with an image of his mother Kathleen at age 19. Photo supplied