THE FULL CIRCLE

Hugh Hughes is highly addictive. Especially since he doesn’t really exist (Hughes is a character created by comedian Shôn Dale-Jones). Their relationship is similar to Bob Downe and his creator Mark Trevorrow, or Norman Gunston and Garry McDonald – the character dominates and has a complete life of its own.   
On the phone from the UK Hughes tells me it’s best he does the interview because Shôn, his friend, is busy. He then hooks me in with his earnest comic stories about his hometown of Anglesey in Wales, where he says there is only one street with all the traffic flowing in the same direction.
“It’s a very small town, and everyone came out to watch when they made the street one-way,” he says. “And they had a railway bridge there once – but it’s gone now.”
Such stories are simple, yet compelling. Hughes’ is a gentle voice, and he has a flair for detail.
The Welshman tells me he’s a performance artist who photographs beached whales and exhibits his work in the local gallery. (Beached whales are so popular in the town that his friend got married near one – but he was disappointed the paperwork had to be signed at a registry, where the whale wasn’t welcome.)  
Talk then turns to Gareth, his best friend since childhood. Gareth apparently has a moon-face and is always getting into trouble because he’s such a decisive person. “Most people standing in a line outside the cinema wouldn’t think about going up and kicking the person in front in the backside, but Gareth just does it,” Hughes says.
Gareth features in the performer’s latest show Hugh Hughes in… 360, which will bring him to Sydney Festival for the About An hour series. It’s a one-man show about his childhood that looks at fantasy, friendship, first love, and what happens when things are bottled up. There is no set, gimmicks, or tricks.   
Hughes’ first two shows with the Hoipolloi Theatre Company (founded in 1994 by Dale-Jones), Floating and Story of a Rabbit, have toured five continents, including a sell-out season of the former at the Sydney Opera House. The UK-based company has created 17 productions that celebrate the imagination, taking audiences into worlds unbound by reality. The Company’s work is playful, theatrical, physical and larger-than-life. They tour extensively through the UK and increasingly on the international circuit through Europe, Asia, and the US, and have received numerous awards including a Total Theatre Award in Edinburgh and a Three Weeks Editors’ Award.
The performance artist says when he was previously in Sydney for Floating he took a shine to our Botanic Gardens because of all the fauna and “florage”. Hughes liked the flying foxes and stood for a long time with his head tilted back looking up at them. “But not for too long, because I didn’t want my neck to get sore,” he says. 
Hughes insists he loves touring because he makes new friends by walking around streets near his hotel with his photo albums.
“I start with one or two streets, knocking on doors and talking to people. Then the next day they usually show me some of their photos before I move on to another street. I’ll be bringing my photos to Sydney if you want to see them.”
WHAT: Hugh Hughes in… 360
WHERE & WHEN: Downstairs Theatre, Seymour Centre Wednesday 27 January to Saturday 30