Normally a monthly night of five minute showcase performances for actors, Tuesday’s Theatre Slam offered a taster of shows coming up in Melbourne Fringe, an excellent idea for those promoting shows and for punters wondering what to see. The night leaned heavily towards comedy so performances outside the comic genre were perhaps disadvantaged by the shift in tone.
Jordana Borensztajn was a hit earlier in the year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with her show, Social Needia: the Epidemic. Her confidence and appealing stage presence are impressive in a newcomer; this one has a future. Catch her at the Portland Hotel, where you’ll also find Danny Stinson’s Don’t Mind Me, which workshops a fear of clowns; his is a sweet stage character telling a teaser of a story – catch the end of the tale at The Portland.
Elixir is a physical theatre/ circus performance by a couple of young strongmen, Head First Acrobats; a hold-your-breath display of physical prowess that you can catch at Gasworks, this year’s Fringe circus hub.
Lou Sanz delivered moments of her new show, Lou Sanz Speaks Easy; she’s a truly witty woman and an experienced and natural storyteller, ensuring that her Fringe show should be a satisfying hour or so of entertainment at the Lithuanian Club. Rama Nicholas in Death Rides a Horse was a stand-out, an utter crowd-pleaser of a spaghetti western/musical mash-up with a host of characters. Whores have dreams, you know. Lovely, funny stuff by a top rate performer; a must-see at the Lith Club. A Midnight Dreary (with the dramatic image pictured) is an old-fashioned nightmare of a bedtime story in verse, a homage to Edward Gorey, winningly delivered with polish and verve by Stephan Taylor and coming up at Thornbury venue Samurai AV.
The world needs more country drag kings, so Beau Heartbreaker (Selena Jenkins) deserves a mention: a nice bloke who writes quirkily amusing songs which, coupled with an impressive beard, will take her far. Catch ‘him’ at Son of Loft, also at the Lithuanian Club.
Robert McGuiness from Kharisma Nascent Dance took us somewhere else in Leave You Wanting More, a beautiful dance work hearkening back to Indigenous traditions; you can catch it at the North Melbourne Town Hall.
Coming up at Gertrude’s Brown Couch in Fitzroy, Six of Hearts is a night of short dramatic plays about sexual politics and other mysterious things, plus three fish; we do love a short play. Two writers and a heap of stage talent directed and produced by Kerry Davies promise intrigue and mystery. I confess to missing Conjunct so can’t comment there, sorry, but it’s a show involving ‘interactive dance, music, light and design,’ with artworks brought to life and directed by Maizie Wilson.C
Safety First at The Tuxedo Cat is comic Dylan Cole doing a bit of madcap stand-up comedy as a daggy Safety Officer delivering a seminar on how to stay safe. 24 Hour Hoo-Haa has three highly experienced silly buggers doing improv; their show runs for 24 hours at the Czech Club so you can pop in at any time. These guys have been at it for years and are skilled at holding tight to an unscripted show; let’s see how sharp they are after 23 hours.
Jolene by Jackson Rouse has a pregnant and tragic drag queen with a darker-than-usual side on a bleak and bitchy journey at Club Voltaire. The night ended with some weirdness – and Grumpy Cat – in Pop Mashup: Happy Birthday Doctor, a Glass Wings production. ‘Indescribable’ is possibly the best way to describe it. Good, seductive cabaret-type weird with killer vocals; see it at Club Voltaire.
One of the best things about the night was the superb relaxed hosting by Trudi Boatwright, a fine comic presence herself. Theatre Slam is the brain child of Trudi, Chris Saxton and Emily Rowe of In Company Theatre. Its next outing is 6 November.
Rating: 3 ¾ stars out of 5
Theatre Slam: Fringe Taster
Click here for performers’ details
Five Boroughs, Melbourne
3 September
(Pictured: A Midnight Dreary at Melbourne Fringe.)
