Performed with all the power and the passion of an Oils song, Aussie Mixtape is a highly enjoyable celebration of the Australian music canon.

It’s cathartic, first and foremost a vehicle for writer/director/performers Amanda Knights and Kat Rich to air out some classic Australian songs. Quite literally a vehicle, given that the play is set almost entirely in a car.

The story follows wide-eyed Kat as she joins seasoned festival-goer Amanda and back-seat guitarist Stuart Donaldson on a road-trip to a music festival in Byron Bay. The trio battle flat tyres and wayward kangaroos while exhaustion sets in, but the goal is clear: get to the festival before the first band.

As producers, Knights and Rich make some smart design choices. The journey up north is depicted on a map projected above the stage, which provides rich material for the performers to work off. The small town of Hilltop, for example, functions as a catalyst for Amanda to recount the sweaty experience of being in a ‘Hoods’ mosh-pit, and speaks to the character’s worldly nature.

Lighting technician Ben Tombs illustrates the passing of time, from dawn to dusk to dawn again, framing the characters’ exhaustion as the drive rolls on. The minimalist set – little more than four car chairs and a steering wheel – focuses the attention on story and song.

In this regard, guitarist Donaldson is key, handling the melodies with ease. His inclusion doesn’t feel heavy-handed either – we all know that guy strumming chords in the back seat, and thankfully we’re spared his tokenistic rendition of Wonderwall in favour of some much-needed love for Aussie classics.

With the trio handling the story and music well, the producers may have done better to omit some minor supporting characters written in through voice-over, which was jarring and failed to offer much by way of story pay-off. But this is a minor drawback in what was otherwise a good time gag fest.

Improvisers by trade, Knights and Rich were impressive in their musical range. John Farnham’s Burn for You was particularly well handled by Knights, and framed the play’s core message: music is significant for how it makes you feel, not for how it makes you look.

Light, funny and injected with all the cheese of a Kylie video, Aussie Mixtape will make you feel like whipping out the hairbrush and singing along.

 Aussie Mixtape will be at the Courthouse Hotel, Jury Room from 16-25 September at 9.30pm Tues-Sun, 8.30pm Sun. Tickets $16-$21.Book tickets at melbournefringe.com.au or call (03) 9660 9666.