NEWS: Film about theatre superfans to be released

Australian independent filmmaker, Mark Dooley, has announced the worldwide Video on Demand (VOD) release of REPEAT ATTENDERS – a feature-length documentary film that looks into the world of musical theatre superfans.

REPEAT ATTENDERS will be available from Saturday 16th May 2020 via Vimeo On Demand, and will later be released on iTunes, Amazon and all other VOD platforms.

Filmed on Broadway, London’s West End, Bochum Germany and Australia’s Melbourne and Brisbane over a six-year period, REPEAT ATTENDERS introduces us to some of the world’s biggest, most extreme superfans of shows such as CATS, RENT, LES MISÉRABLES and STARLIGHT EXPRESS.

REPEAT ATTENDERS delves into the psychology of the most extreme Broadway superfans, to reveal the quirks and complexities of their obsessions. STARLIGHT EXPRESS superfan Gudrun Mangel, has been following her favourite musical for over 20 years. Her story reveals the pain she has endured since childhood, after being told by her parents, that she would never fulfil her dream of becoming an actress because she was too ugly and overweight.

REPEAT ATTENDERS shines a spotlight on Broadway superfans and this growing global phenomenon of ‘repeat attending’, as it examines just how far the most extreme superfans will go in pursuit of their passion – some with devastating consequences.

Mark Dooley, the filmmaker’s message to the Audience: “With the world’s stages shut down for the foreseeable future, REPEAT ATTENDERS now plays a different role for the viewer. The film was originally created as a love letter to fans of theatre of all levels, but is now an archive of what going to the theatre used to be like, before COVID-19 put an end to being an audience member anywhere. It will be detrimental to the well-being of the human race that this experience can no longer occur.

“I hope REPEAT ATTENDERS gives comfort to those missing theatre and performing arts at the moment. It will be back, and we will be able to enjoy our passion once more. For now, hold onto those memories and treasured moments, because they can’t be taken away from you.”