Fresh off a successful London run of his show Liza On An E, the irrepressible Trevor Ashley brings his latest creation Little Orphan trAshley to the Comedy Theatre as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. A hilarious piss-take on that perennial family favourite Annie, this production showcases Ashley’s trademark boundless energy and his politically incorrect sense of humour.
This ‘adults only pantomime’ opens with Gary Sweet dressed in pajamas reading aloud from a book. After a brief Fifty Shades of Grey joke the story of poor little orphan Fannie (Ashley) begins. A redheaded (or ‘ranga’) outcast at the Sutherland Shire Orphanage for Talented Girls, Fannie wants to discover who her real parents are and also book a bit of gender reassignment surgery along the way. Before too long Fannie has escaped the clutches of the alcoholic orphanage mistress Miss Trannigan, a gloriously self-deprecating Rhonda Burchmore, and is being plucked off the mean streets of Kings Cross by billionaire photographer Daddy Warhorse (Sweet).
Ashley cheekily informs the audience that the storyline is in fact based on Oliver Twist, which is thankfully ‘out of copyright’. If you’re familiar with the source material you should be able to predict how this all pans out. What remains unpredictable is exactly how Ashley and writing partner Phil Scott will bastardize this familiar story in their own hysterical way.
Ashley and Scott know their target audience well and Little Orphan trAshley is awash with foul language, camp showbiz moments and bitchy music theatre jokes. Fannie’s canine companion in this incarnation becomes a muscle-bound S & M figure called ‘Bullshit’ (Rhys Bobridge) and no topic is off limits; there are jokes about The Voice, the Labor Party, Bill Henson and Peter Slipper (just to name a few). Some of these quips are blandly obvious but the majority are bitingly irreverent and had the audience in stitches. Directed by Craig Illot, the show is a little too long, the first act drags a bit but picks up in the second half, and Ashley seemed a tad vocally fatigued. This prevented his powerful voice from commanding the stage, as it did so successfully in last year’s superior Fat Swan.
Tina Jackson and Coral Mercer-Jones, who play numerous roles throughout the show, ably support Ashley and both young performers gets the opportunity to showcase their talents. Gary Sweet is, well, Gary Sweet. He looks rather uncomfortable for most of the show and let’s just say I don’t think any record producers will be looking to sign him up to release a single anytime soon, but he’s a good sport nonetheless.
The songs peppered throughout Little Orphan trAshley are eclectic and fit the parody well; Michael Tyack is the show’s Music Director. ‘Where Is Love’ from Oliver becomes ‘Where Is Muff’ and contemporary pop songs, such as ‘Call Me Maybe,’ ‘Rehab’ and ‘Born This Way’ are given an Ashley-style reinterpretation. The small on-stage band produces a pleasing well-rounded sound and Cameron Mitchell’s small snippets of choreography are basic but befitting of the style of the show.
It’s always a pleasure waiting with baited breath and cringing in anticipation at what Trevor Ashley will come up with next and Little Orphan trAshley is a welcome addition to this incomparable performer’s growing repertoire. If you think you might get a kick out of hearing Gary Sweet sing the word ‘ejaculation’ this is the show for you!
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Little Orphan trAshley
Written & performed by
Directed by Craig Illot
Musically Directed by Michael Tyack
Choreography by Cameron Mitchell
Lighting Design by Matt Marshall
Cast: Trevor Ashley, Rhonda Burchmore, Gary Sweet, Rhys Bobridge, Tina Jackson and Coral Mercer-Jones
The Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
4 – 14 July
Melbourne Cabaret Festival
melbournecabaret.com
26 June – 7 July
