Mission of Flowers (Australia)

After Mission of Flowers had faded to black and a standing ovation had been given, the house lights came up. It took at least 5 minutes for the audience to leave their seats, they were stuck. I sat in silence, glued to mine.. What an absolute dynamite story! So far at the hollywood fringe I have yet to be transported to another time and place, until now... Pioneer aviator Bill Lancaster, has crash landed in the heart of the Sahara Desert with only a gallon of water.. The only thing that keeps him alive are the memories and thoughts of a thrilling, full life. He is certain that they will come looking for him, the only thing keeping Bill alive are memories from the love of his life, and a diary which he records them in. Based on a true... full review

An earnest performance from Leof Kingsford-Smith is not enough to distract from the fact that the epic sweep of this castaway tale has no business being a one-man show. As a pitch for a potential film, the project has a good deal of merit. As a theatrical experience in its own right, it desperately calls for additional actors and less obvious writing. What could be expansive and historically evocative is reduced to a series of simplistic impersonations. What we get is a nostalgic piece of storytelling that rests lazily on top of the heart-wrenching tale it tries to embody.... full review

From http://tinyurl.com/28c266g: After a crash-landing April 13, 1933, in middle of the Sahara Desert, pioneer aviator Bill Lancaster (played by aviation great Sir Charles Kingford-Smith’s grand-nephew, Leof) rations his canteen into seven pints- one per day as he awaits rescue amidst the searing heat and freezing nights. He slowly drinks his way through them, sharing last thoughts from his pilot’s logbook-turned-diary, about love and loss, ego and adventure. Between desperate gulps we learn of his ex-wife Kiki, whom he left to adventure with the “love of his life” Chubbie Miller, all of the aviation records he attempted (and failed) to break, his dreams of rising above the anonymous thousands and achieving fame and fortune in the Golden Age... full review

Mission of Flowers at Theatre Asylum by Ashley Steed~ “In life there are winners and losers. No in-betweens.” For pioneer aviator Bill Lancaster, he certainly wasn’t a winner; but after seeing Mission of Flowers by Gerry Greenland, I don’t think anyone would have the heart to say he was a loser. Based on a true story, the play chronicles Lancaster’s plane crash in the middle of the Sahara and incidents in his life leading up to that point. Stranded with little water and a journal, Lancaster writes to his mother and the aviatrix Jessie “Chubbie” Miller – the love of his life. After an accident, business failure and a murder accusation – it seems his dream of making aviation history will never come to fruition. Thus his Mission of Flower... full review

This was magical. I was Instantly drawn into the plight of aviator Bill Lancaster and then compelled by the desperative life that had brought him to this moment in time. Leof Kingsford Smith has been well cast and delivers a stunningly seemless performance that transitions from past to present. The direction by Damien Lay is detailed and exceptionally well thought through. The script is beautiful and the combination of all elements leaves you mesmerised. I loved it, unique, different and the intertwine of actual words from the pilots diary took me on a harrowing journey! Well done Mission! well done Fringe!... full review

(Steven Leigh Morris/L.A. Weekly) MISSION OF FLOWERS Australian actor Leof Kingsford-Smith's solo performance of Gerry Greenland's biographical drama is based on the life and diary of English-Australian aviator Bill Lancaster. Alan Walpole's set creates a kind of cart carved from the imagined wreckage of Lancaster's plane, which crashed in the Sahara in 1933. And there's that image of water once more as the essence of what we are. Lancaster sits preserving energy, and crossing off chalk lines on a water canteen as day after day tick by, with flickering and then fading hope that his flares will be noticed by nearby pilots. The play is a fever dream as Lancaster awaits rescue. For a fever, however, it sure is a straightforward and rational a... full review