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Regional Arts Victoria is delighted to announce the regional tour of ‘The Merger’, by Damian Callinan. Nominated for the Barry Award (Best Show), 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival! “

Footy Almanac Damian Callinan is looking for recruits for the Bodgy Creek Football Team … but not where you might expect! In the sequel to his multi-award inning ‘Sportsman’s Night,’ Damian revisits the  dysfunctional Bodgy Creek Football Club. The township has seen better days – the mill’s closed; the Tidy Town sign has fallen into the long grass and the weir is dry. The dying town is about to claim its next victim.

Unable to field even one full side, the footy club will either have to fold or merge with their arch rivals – the Hudson’s Flat Redbacks. But prodigal son coach Troy Carrington has other ideas; to save the club and serve his socially aware agenda, he embarks on a program to recruit players from the Asylum Seekers Refuge Centre.

Will the new players cope with pre season training whilst fasting for Ramadan? ‘The Merger’ is the third show for which Damian Callinan has been nominated for the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival Barry Award. It had a sell out season in Adelaide and Melbourne and featured on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala on Network Ten.

‘The Merger’ is part of VicHealth’s Arts About Us program, which supports arts projects that celebrate cultural diversity and raise awareness of the harm caused by race-based discrimination.

VicHealth’s Acting CEO Associate Professor John Fitzgerald said The Merger’s story helps to promote culturalunderstanding. ‘Damian’s show encourages people to think about how our differences enrich us and strengthen our community,’

For all media enquiries please contact: Hannah French, Marketing Officer, Regional Arts Victoria (03) 9644 1804 [email protected] 

‘THE MERGER’ REGIONAL VICTORIAN TOUR runs from 7 October - 5 November

For venue and ticket information, please see www.rav.net.au  

Portland Arts Centre  Friday 7th October, 7.30pm

Tallaroook Mechanics Institute Saturday 8th October, 7.30pm

West Gippsland Arts Centre Thursday 13th October, 8pm

Bruthen Arts Council Friday, 14th October, 8pm

The Potato Shed, Geelong Saturday 15th October, 8pm

Westside PAC, Mooroopna Sunday 16th October, 8pm

Dookie Community Centre Tuesday 18th October, 7.30pm

Old Fire Station, Bendigo Wednesday 19th October, 8pm

RSL Hall, Heathcote Thursday 20th October, 8pm

Shire Hall, Pyramid Hill Friday 21st October, 8pm

Elmore Memorial Hall Saturday 22nd October, 8pm

Phee Broadway Theatre, Castlemaine Sunday 23rd October, 8pm

The Forge, Bairnsdale Tuesday 25th October, 7.30pm

Mount Beauty Community Centre Kiewa Crescent  Thursday 27th October, 8pm

Wodonga Raiders Football Club Saturday 29th October, 8pm

Latrobe Regional PAC, Traralgon Monday 31st October, 7.30pm

Cavendish Memorial Hall Wednesday 2nd November, 7.30pm

Penshurst Memorial Hall Thursday 3rd November, 7.30pm

Coleraine Mechanics Hall Friday 4th November, 8pm

Southern Peninsula Arts Centre, Rosebud Saturday 5th November, 8pm