Curtin theatre student Liam Borbas brings debut play Escape to the Busselton Performing Arts Festival

Liam Borbas was working at a South West restaurant early last year when he decided to head to Perth and continue to chase his theatre dreams. Now in his last year of a Theatre Arts degree at Curtin University, Borbas is bringing his first play to the Busselton Performing Arts Festival. The debut play written and directed by Borbas, entitled Escape, is now set to be put on at Shelter Brewing Co. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after a successful first run at Curtin’s Hayman Theatre. The play is named after the Rupert Holmes song Escape — otherwise know as The Pina Colada Song — which Borbas decided would make a good play after listening to it while driving to class. “The Pina Colada Song came on, Escape, and I was listening to it and I thought ‘wow, there is actually a lot of substance to this song’,” he said. “It is a bit of a joke, a bit of a silly song, but if you actually listen to the lyrics, there is a whole plot and a whole story unravelling in three verses and two choruses. “It is a song that everyone knows so well, but they don’t think of the story of it.” The new director said he was looking forward to returning to the South West alongside Capel actress Tully Jones — who plays a starring role in the show. “I am looking forward to being back down there and seeing some familiar faces and friends,” Borbas said. “When I was in the South West, one thing I kicked myself about was never getting involved in the theatre community down there. “It is really cool to be going back down there, and bringing theatre with me.” Borbas said it was crazy to think how far the concept had come since an idea he had in his car. “I have repeatedly been blown away and taken off guard with how it has all come about,” he said. “I had this little idea floating around, a little brainwave, and I was able to pull a story from it. “Once we started getting on stage and rehearsing it, people started reacting to it well, and seeing it on stage in front of an audience was another spin out. “Now bringing it here and doing another run in the South West is really cool, and I am blown away. “It is really cool to see something that started as a play-around to become a thing.”