"This is a War Zone, Baby - Improvise!"

The true story of a 17 year-young Jewish-Australian Flamenco dancer, thousands of men, machine guns, Viet Cong, fear, courage, Rock'N'Roll.
A little-known piece of the Vietnam war history.

In 1970, Aviva performed in areas as far-flung as Can Tho, far in the South, Bong Son in the Central Highlands, Dong Ha, 8km from the then De-Militarised Zone (DMZ).

Aviva was supported by the energetic young music group, No See Dolly (led by her son, Leslie) and Vietnamese musician, Hung Phan.

The shows at the Adelaide Fringe 2000 Festival March Cabaret, in Adelaide, South Australia were a great success. See the reviews...

Sexy, gutsy, in-your-face, confronting, hilarious, poignant. Critics said: "Aviva performs with every atom of her being." -- Di Beer, Arts Critic. At the tender age of 17, flamenco dancer Aviva Sheb'a joined the 3000-strong contingent of entertainers in Vietnam. Armed with little more than a lust for adventure, Aviva survived her tour and somehow maintained her sense of humour -- and it's her comic and often touching observations that give her show such bite. Underlying her boundless energy and stunning flamenco routines is the fact Aviva's life was irrevocably changed by her tour. She weaves her travelogue of jungle life and war atrocities with a personable flair that makes the audience feel as though we are sharing a coffee and a chat. Denise Drysdale and Anne Wills were never like this. -- Laura Kendall, Adelaide Advertiser "Come 'n' sit on maaahh lap, be mah gud luck charm while I have a lil game o' poker wi' m' buddy here"   -  Drunken US general to Aviva...

"Do I have to?"

 
It's one thing to crawl through a steaming jungle, but it's another to
crawl through a crowd of steaming young men"
Carmen Woods

well-scripted gem... potential to become a 4 or 5 star Aussie Classic
Rod Lewis

Grab a sandwich or a pack or two of C's and bolt.
Going from the Delta to The DMZ 4 times in one month at the pace noted above.
Sexual abuse and harassment, mostly from officers
One was shot dead at Freedom Hill.
I have met several VN entertainers, both male and female, since coming here.
Without exception all show signs and symptoms of PTSD.
None have the resources available to them that other veterans do to help them in their lives walk today.
A fact I find unjust to the point of being criminal.
John Hanley       Medic Vietnam 1970 - 71


"This is a War Zone, Baby -- Improvise" in Adelaide Fringe 2000:
Festival Fringe time in Adelaide the streets awash with the flotsam and jetsam of society.
High heels and tiaras elbow to elbow with gothic girls, feminazis, burb-babes, the going too fast people, the going too slow people,the going nowhere people and the homy-gals and the mob from the big end of town slumming it... and they all went to the wrong show...the action was with Aviva...

The night was an ambush; the quarry was the cultural silences of the vietnam war; the weapons were truth and memory.
Confronting, In your face, raw, we heard it described many ways but this was just Aviva's tale.

The Vietnamese musician, the grainy slides,the exuberance of "No See Dolly" (son Leslie's band) and the monologue left the punter no escape from a trip to Vietnam thirty years in the past.
The Veterans in the audience squinted and surveyed trying to I.D. other Vets
and reactions began betraying the masks but when Leslie's band began mimicking the Vietnam jungle F... Off lizard there was nowhere for the vets to hide
...I missed the next bit of the show because my eyes were watering and I had a really severe pain in my gut from laughing.
Icons and Images of the war were uncomfortable but necessary.
The major sadness was the realisation of how the war machine had treated a very young seventeen year old in a very "Adult" environment and it became obvious that some of the shoulder rank people she met didn't get issued the officer and gentleman handbook in training.

The tragedy is not as powerful as the triumph and surviving the war and its warriors is the testimony that shows the resilience of youth and the forging of a lifeforce.

For atmosphere and character
"Brief Lives" with Roy Dotrice

for energy and emotion
"Death of a Salesman" with Russel Starkey

for homegrown theatre
"Kiss me Kate" Mirabooka players

for this quality in one night
"This is a War Zone, Baby -- Improvise" with Aviva Sheb'a
-- Ian Campbell, Vietnam Veteran

Other Audience Reactions:
I could see, hear and smell that General -- the accent and actions were impeccable.
And hilarious.

best show I've ever seen. I could smell Vietnam, it's as though we were there

moving, hilarious in turn

god, can she move!

still stunning, 30 years later

how did she survive all that?

moved me to tears

when's it on again? when can I buy the book?

When's it going on tour?

From Aviva's side:

This show was financed entirely from my limited income and good will;
the moral support I received was enormous.
There were very few hiccups, no catastrophes and everything else went so well.
What a way to celebrate my 30th anniversary of the trip to hell!

I wish to thank the following:

The band,
No See Dolly...

Leslie Kit Bond, drums, vocals
Cozmo Berry, percussion, vocals
Marco Gibard Cher, bass
Robert Skinner, guitar

 Leslie brought the house down with his song, "I Will Follow You".
Cozmo was Captain Kawalski and The Californian
Marco, a frightening Viet Cong and
Robert divided the scenes with the Theme.

Vietnamese musician, Hung Phan,

created beautiful scenes with his music.
His Vietnamese Zither brought the audience into Vietnam.

At the last minute, I was loaned not far off a thousand slides taken in Vietnam by service personnel.

Rosie,

my daughter, had one afternoon to view them and put together a slide show that accompanied the script,
bringing a momorable visual impression of Vietnam -- and, at times, prompting me. I left the slides to her completely and she did a magnificent job. Perfect selection and timing.

Pedr Horley, from the Military Vehicles Museum,

Roy Wooding

Peter Emery,

Wendy Anderson, Melinda Boston

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© Aviva Sheb'a 1999 - 2008