To create The Queer Woodchop , a wood-splintering subverted agricultural showcase merging smooth lumber, alternate show bags and the odd pink flaccid axe, experimental performance duo Pony Express sought out the experts.

But, on meeting Tasmanian husband-and-wife woodchoppers Dale and Amanda Beams, world champions in the heritage sport, the theatre group’s preconceptions were toppled.

“A bunch of us had a lesson, and I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m actually secretly surprisingly strong and I’m sure I’ll be good at this’,” says Ian Sinclair, one half of Pony Express. “Then I turned out to be terrible because, in the initial parts [of chopping], it’s less about sheer force and strength and more about being soft and relaxing your body and letting the blade do the work.

“I was really surprised

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