SMOKO is a light-hearted and proudly Aussie observation of mental health struggles, witnessed through the humorous life journey of young bogan landfill worker, Beccy.

As soon as the lights go up, protagonist Beccy, dressed in her bright orange high-vis, assuredly presents exactly who her unpolished, laidback and somewhat naive bogan character is. Her brash ocker Aussie language includes phrases like “a whipper-snipper taken to ranga pubes”, declaring proudly that she has “massive trucker tits” and proclaiming her amusing love of both blue Powerade and Aussie shed-rock band The Chats (whose most popular song is titled Smoko). Through Beccy’s inner-monologue which plays as the background narration of SMOKO, the audience soon learns about their young protagonists situation; she lives at home with no desire to pursue employment, has been kicked off Centrelink, and her girlfriend-not girlfriend Liz scarily wants to make their relationship official. Then comes a new job in an unexpected place – the local landfill.

Throughout many of the situations Beccy finds herself in, the script lightly addresses topical societal issues, from queer identity and blatant sexism, to class division and the flaws of capitalism. When it is declared that Beccy is the first female staff member on the landfill team she receives a tiny-weenie leopard print “Construction-kini” – a comical comment on the often sexist, male-dominated blue-collar industries and their far division from equal treatment of the sexes. Unsurprisingly, the contemporary issue of over-consumption and extreme levels of waste are highlighted throughout the show and emphasised by Beccy’s surprisingly romantic comments about the beauty and nostalgia of older items that have been discarded, like those owned by her grandmother.

Although a majority of SMOKO is filled with light-hearted humour, it’s not all big laughs with Beccy’s smoko (the Aussie slang for a smoke break) turning into a quiet time for self-reflection and contemplation. As more things in the protagonist’s life start to fall apart (girlfriend issues and out-of-nowhere family drama), Beccy begins to relate to the abandoned waste and disposable items that surround her – she feels down in the dumps, and at one point quite literally is. This deeper level of character building is not quite convincing with her family issues being too abruptly introduced into the storyline without enough development.

An array of larger-than-life characters fill the stage at numerous times throughout the one-person show. Writer and performer Jasmine Story utilises various costume items, like hats and glasses, and exaggerated character traits, such as twangy vocals and dramatically feminine body movements, to not only distinguish the characters, but to add more rich detail in the world-building of Beccy’s landfill life. Story creates these larger-than-life personalities which provide comical humour in the form of a chiller ‘Gay-Nomad’, an out-of-touch rich Byron Bay hippie, a health-addicted personal trainer and an uncomfortably creepy local snake-catcher.

On stage are various props and set pieces that add to the world building, from pillars of black milk crates doubling as car seats and dining chairs to toy dump trucks on a mini landfill. The most impressive props, though, are the incredibly detailed and beautifully crafted animal puppets of a crow/raven and Beccy’s dead family dog Smooch, created by artist Claude Creighton through development with the famed ERTH Visual & Physical Inc. Both puppets are hauntingly depicted as from beyond-the-grave, with carefully matted hair and feathers, white bones protruding under furry flesh hanging loose, and glassy dead eyes, all providing a unique artistic charm to the show.

Audibly overlayed throughout the one-person show are songs, including plenty of nostalgic 2000’s Delta Goodrem, and duologues with Beccy that take place through the proficient use of voice overs.

SMOKO is a fun Aussie look at contemporary societal issues like queer identity, sexism, familial relationships and consumerism, all explored within the life of a young landfill worker. With a bit more workshopping to achieve a more cohesive storyline and fully developed protagonist, it’s sure to become a powerfully entertaining production that strongly conveys messages about mental health and self-discovery.