Vandemonian Lags: New Songs Of Transportation From The Prison Without Walls is musical theatre that highlights the plight of Tasmania’s convict past through spoken word and songs and is driven by Mick Thomas (the former frontman of Melbourne folk-rock band Weddings Parties Anything), who conceptualised the show with his brother, Steve. The production features a host of other muso-performers (including Tim Rogers, Brian Nankervis, Jeff Lang, Ben Salter, Sal Kimber, Darren Hanlon, Shelley Short, Van Walker and Claire Anne Taylor) and is a reprisal of a show first performed at Dark Mofo in 2013. (The word ‘Vandemonian’ was mainlanders’ slang for those from Van Dieman’s Land, while ‘lags’ means criminal.)
The transportation of British convicts (including many from Ireland) to Tasmania only ended in 1853 – compared to 1840 for the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement (Queensland) and NSW in the same year) and many modern-day Tasmanians are proud of their convict ancestry, whereas once it was a source of shame. This production takes its cues from Tasmania’s historical genesis and showcases a sample of real-life, 19th century convicts, ex-convicts, free settlers and colonial masters.
The short-run Victorian tour takes 16 multifarious convict tales and imbues them with theatrical and musical flair, with Nankervis serving as narrator, often with a book in tow, and Rogers as presiding judge. Both provide a historical context – and some levity – to the tales of these ‘Vandemonian Lags’, while the band features members of Weddings Parties Anything – Jen Anderson, Mark Wallace, and Michael Barclay – alongside Craig Pilkington. There’s also a large screen onstage showing video clips, photos and short explanatory snippets of some of the characters whose lives are explored.
It wouldn’t be fair to single any one out in this ensemble cast – all perform with passion and talent borne from years of working as professional musicians. Most songs are preceded with a policeman figure roughly manhandling a prisoner onto the stage. The prisoners’ hands are crossed, as though cuffed. Rogers reads out their crime and years of servitude in the colonies and the convict sings their tale. To add to the authenticity, all the performers are dressed in period costumes in humble earthy tones.
It’s a credit to this production that there’s a variety of voices and characters, miscreants both young and old, and not all are white males either. Moreover, the stories don’t simply cover misery and suffering – though of course there’s a fair bit of that. There are tales too, of acclimatisation, redemption, financial success and love.
With such a large source material to choose from – roughly 73,000 men, women and children were transported from the UK to Tasmania between 1804 to 1854 – the chosen stories are those with an oddity or whimsy to them. There was a man for instance, who was convicted for poaching but then struck gold on the Victorian goldfields and returned home to purchase the very property he was found guilty of poaching from. Another tale features a possible inspiration for Charles Dickens’ villainous Fagin from Oliver Twist.
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Musically, Vandemonian Lags favours folksy, big ballad numbers with a few exceptions – in the second half, and to enthusiastic acclaim from the audience, Rogers leaps on stage, shedding his magisterial robes for a dressy lounge jacket to sing a rock ‘n roll number called ‘Sex Hospital’ – about a scandal involving a Launceston hospital being turned into a part-time brothel.
It’s a pity this production is only playing at a few locations; Vandemonian Lags deserves a wider audience. The synthesis of singers, musicians and historical narratives of convict reckoning makes for a fascinating and entertaining night.
Vandemonian Lags: New Songs Of Transportation From The Prison Without Walls
Co-writers: Mick and Steve Thomas
Performers: Brian Nankervis, Mick Thomas, Tim Rogers, Jeff Lang, Ben Salter, Sal Kimber, Darren Hanlon, Shelley Short, Van Walker, Claire Anne Taylor, Jen Anderson, Mark Wallace, Michael Barclay with Craig Pilkington.
Vandemonian Lags was performed for one night only on 23 May 2025 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. It tours to Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat on 24 May, then to Frankston Arts Centre on 25 May.
