Comedy - Whats The Show

The Balloon Dog Bites

01/09/2025 Steve Willems🥈🦉

The Balloon Dog Bites Rating

★★★★★

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The Sad Clown trope has been done to death, so it’s very refreshing to get a new type of clown; the type that loves their craft but has to perform for the obnoxious children of a wealthy family while coming down from a wild night and sporting a queer sex injury. Yep. The Balloon Dog Bites is a one-and-a-bit man comedy at the Old Fitz Theatre that manages all kinds of wrong in all the right ways.

Paulie Accio loves being a clown, leaning in to his goofy, fun-loving nature it’s his calling in life. Having studied the craft in France, he now struggles to make a living and often has to resort to accepting children’s birthday parties. It’s a humiliating necessity for a serious artist. That’s where we find him today, reflecting on his training in France and his attempts at being a serious clown while dealing with bratty children and demanding corporate-world parents at a birthday party in Birchgrove. The children and adults alike constantly belittle his occupation, with escalating humiliations culminating in a grim tragedy and moment of cathartic revenge.

I say one-and-a-bit man because while written and performed as a solo act by Michael Louis Kennedy, he employs the use of five audience members to read out the parts of several children at the party, which was a fun and fresh way to expand the story and involve the audience.

While the show is short and sharp, coming in at fifty minutes, the pacing is spot on. The story takes it’s time and is never rushed, with plenty of jokes to keep you laughing. Kennedy has a great sense of timing, not only when he tells the jokes but also in telling the story as Paulie, often mimicking other characters as he brings the events to life. It often felt like a stand-up comedy act, with careful pauses to allow for laughter or dramatic effect.

But the show also has a serious side, exploring how traditional family structures and views on parenthood often disparages the lives of queer or childless people. Anyone outside of a traditional role in a heteronormalized nuclear family is questioned, mocked, and belittled, with children prioritised over Paulie’s dignity. These ideas were never forced or obvious, yet played a vital role as the thematic foundation.

I had a lot of fun, as did the rest of the audience, who couldn’t stop laughing until the end and then jumped to give Kennedy a standing ovation. Be careful though, this clown act is very much for adults only.

The Balloon Dog Bites is playing at the Old Fitz Theatre in Woolloomooloo, Sydney until the 5th of September.

To book tickets to The Balloon Dog Bites, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/the-balloon-dog-bites.

Photographer: Phil Erbacher

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A Thoughtful, Entertaining, And Faithful Rendering Of A Complex Classic

25/08/202524/08/2025 Chantal Harrison Writer🥉

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead – Hunter’s Hill Theatre Rating

★★★★★

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Hunters Hill Theatre’s “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead,” Tom Stoppard’s legendary absurdist tragicomedy, delivers a warm and lively take on the tale of two minor Hamlet; characters doomed by fate and their own obscurity. From the outset, the greeting from the Hunters Hill Theatre committee sets an inviting tone, matched by the cheerful note of live music wafting through the space as the audience finds their seats; a particularly thoughtful touch that eased the transition into what would be a lengthy but joyful theatrical experience.

Stoppard’s play pivots around Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two bewildered courtiers caught on the fringes of Hamlet’s story, who contort through existential wordplay, philosophical meanderings, and a growing awareness of their own lack of agency. The narrative, fragmented and surreal, weaves in and out of Hamlet, placing our protagonists in a landscape where meaning and momentum are perpetually just out of reach. While in theory this absurdist structure invites playful confusion, in practice it can be a genuine challenge for audience members to follow; something I certainly experienced at times.

The sequence of coin tosses, theatre-troupe hijinks, and discussions of fate and free will were made more powerful by the gorgeous old theatre style setting, the reds of the enticing set, the colourful costuming and light design and the interwoven 90s classics as the soundtrack.

Karen Pattinson’s Rosencrantz anchors the show with remarkable vitality, her presence is infectious, and she brings a buoyant, engaging quality to every scene. With a playful physicality, Pattinson makes superb use of the stage, drawing energy from even the most challenging passages and keeping the audience engaged. She manages the lightness and quick wit the role demands, creating a Rosencrantz who is both affable and deeply sympathetic, maintaining momentum even where Stoppard’s existential riddles might otherwise cause the pace to lag.

Jivan Drungrilas as Guildenstern plays the perfect foil to Pattinson’s cheer, rendering their character with brooding skepticism and philosophical weight. The dynamic between the two is the production’s heart; comic timing and tonal balance keep the core relationship feeling alive, dynamic, and frequently funny.

The supporting cast deserves credit for enlivening the margins with punch and humour, particularly during the play’s meta-theatrical moments and ensemble-driven scenes involving the Tragedians. The use of shadow puppetry adds a whimsical element. Their comic timing and character work bring welcome clarity and relief, heightening the absurdity while never losing the sense of fun.

Practical touches, such as the provision of cushions for the chairs, should absolutely be taken up, as the play’s length is both a testament to the ambition of the company and a point of practical consideration for audiences. These small gestures, along with the committee’s warm welcome, reflect the community ethos that makes local theatre so rewarding.

As with any opening night, there were some small hiccups and moments where the pace snagged slightly, but these did little to diminish the overall energy and connection of the cast. The enthusiasm onstage, particularly in the lead performances, quickly won over the audience and supported the more challenging elements of the text.

The direction of Tui Clark and the well-chosen cast really have taken this piece to the next level. The production offers a thoughtful, entertaining, and faithful rendering of a complex classic.

To book tickets to Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead – Hunter’s Hill Theatre, please visit https://www.huntershilltheatre.com.au/.

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Break a Leg at The MC Showroom

24/08/2025 Amanda Lee Starkey🥉

Break A Leg Rating

★★★★★

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Imagine a bunch of social-media influencers landing roles in a high-stakes, Broadway-bound production—with zero stage chops. Rehearsals devolve into diva meltdowns, ego clashes, and utter mayhem. Then, in a desperate bid for team-building, they conjure spirits with a fake Ouija board… but the real ghosts show up. Cue the body-swap chaos—suddenly everyone’s in each other’s shoes, and opening night is just around the corner.

This is Break a Leg, a two-act comedy written and directed by Jason Ekonomides, playing at The MC Showroom from August 20 to 24, 2025

Prahran’s MC Showroom is an ideal match for this story. The intimate black-box layout ensures every grimace, costume flop, and ghostly flicker is close enough to touch. With seating capacity hovering around 80–100 depending on layout , the audience becomes part of the mayhem—not just observers. With minimal props, set design and an intimate atmosphere, actors are forced to rely on their craft- which is a huge pay off. It makes the production that much more authentic, as though we are just voyeurs, invited in for a sneak peek.

The performance offers quick pacing and over-the-top personalities ensure there’s never a dull moment. Body-swapping naturally demands expressive performance—from mannerisms to vocal tone—and the comedy thrives on it. The supernatural element isn’t just for show; it fuels plot momentum and raises the stakes. There are so many relatable moments for anyone who’s ever worked in a creative project—full of egos, deadlines, and “what even is blocking?” which garnered quite a few laughs from the audience. There are so many moments that garnered laughs, it’s hard to pinpoint the best one, which adds credibility to the skills of the cast, making the show incredibly entertaining. After all, when there’s no huge set and props are minimal, actors are left to their skills to draw the audience in, and they manage to succeed in this quite well.

Break a Leg is a rambunctious backstage farce that pairs clever body-swap hijinks with a comedic look at influencer culture and theatrical chaos. Performed in the cozy, tech-equipped intimacy of The MC Showroom, it’s a sharp, delightful night of theatre.

If you’re into rowdy humour, spirited performances, or backstage shows gone wildly off script—this one’s for you.

To book tickets to Break A Leg , please visit https://www.themcshowroom.com/whatson/break-a-leg.

Photographer: Billie Kennedy

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Getting Lost to Find What Truly Matters – Lost and Finding

21/08/202517/08/2025 Linda Lokhee🏆🥇🦉

Lost & Finding Rating

★★★★★

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Liminal Production’s “Lost and Finding” is one of those unique theatre experiences which peaked a sense of curiosity, right from the beginning. Unlike other plays, where patrons are seated in the theatre and watch a story, this is immersive storytelling which began from the moment we walked into the Flight Path Theatre in Marrickville. Producer Aaron Cornelius greeted us at the door with a raffle ticket – for what, we did not know, but it did create a sense of excitement! Billed as a fantasy-comedy interactive show, I was aware that audience participation was most likely going to happen. However, for people who aren’t comfortable with this, there are marked seats inside the theatre for those who don’t mind being a part of the show.

When we entered the theatre, the lighting was dim. Shadows created crevices of the unknown. There was an atmosphere that felt mysterious and ominous. (Lighting design by Caity Cowan) What was this place? Where were we? At first glance, it looked like a garage filled with vintage junk; a hoarder’s room stacked floor to ceiling with things like boxes, sheets, tee shirts, guitars, paintings, milk crates, monitors, sport equipment and suitcases. As the play progressed, it was clear that every placement of this seemingly haphazardly strewn “stuff” was designed and placed with infinite care from the imagination of production designers Hannah Taylor and Paris Bell. The visual effects of the multi-level set was impressive. As a room infused with lost memories, my eyes kept exploring the set throughout the play and I wondered, who were the people whose memories these belonged to? The set also reminded me of The Junk Lady from one of my favourite films, “Labyrinth”.

We follow a confused Cassie, portrayed by Emma Throssell, where she finds herself unexpectedly in this strange space, looking for something, of which she cannot remember. She has literally fallen into a world where she encounters many interesting characters who help and hinder a journey towards discovering what it is that she has lost. Emma’s portrayal of Cassie delivered an outstanding performance that captured the emotional depth and authenticity of the character and I felt myself cheering her on in her quest. In one scene, Cassie had to perform a stand-up routine for an audition. Emma wrote this routine for her character. I felt the awkwardness and nervousness of Cassie as she delivered it, at the same time finding it very funny.

The amazing puppets and puppeteering were a delight to watch! Puppet maker/ director George Wohlfiel created original characters, ones who I could not help but look into their eyes – up at Lizard Wizard, down at the cheeky lizard and particularly at the pigeons Carl and Steve, whose eyes popped out and bobbed as they spoke. Carl had a big personality – a ciggy craving pigeon that made me laugh. His job was akin to a Service NSW customer service worker who was overworked, underpaid and frazzled. There was one puppet called Poppet, with its big eyes and gentle personality who I wanted to take home. Another character, The Dread Pirate Susan, spoke eloquently in poetry, and her name reminded me of The Dread Pirate Roberts from another of my favourite films, “The Princess Bride”. I loved the respectful nod to the two films I’d associated certain characters from, while still maintaining originality.

The puppeteers were polished in their craft and worked together to create convincing movements of their characters for a realistic stage presence. Puppeteers Ashley Chandler, Natanyah Forbes, Jade Fuda, Michael Ho and Renae Valastro did an outstanding job, all the while weaving their own bodies onto the stage with nuance and expression.

Co-sound designers Bryan Ruiz and Ellie Wilson from “Lost and Finding” created a continuous audio environment that added a strong dimension to the production. The dramatic soundscape and subtle sound effects, along with the visuals, encompassed my senses. One scene, which involved a villain speaking, was done with great depth and menace.

Director Emma Van Veen also wrote the play “Lost and Finding”. Her script captured my curiosity from the start and allowed my imagination to stretch to places within the set and far away. There were several sub-plots in the storytelling which were intertwined and were cleverly penned. “Lost and Finding” reminds us of the complexity of our own minds and the limitlessness of our imaginations. This tale of self-discovery, of finding the unexpected was a beautifully woven theatre production which I highly recommend to everyone. Go see it!

I saw the world premiere performance of “Lost and Finding” at the Flight Path Theatre on Friday 15 August 2025.
Flight Path Theatre: 9b 142 Addison Road, Marrickville
Run: 14-23 August 2025
Time: 100 minutes, no interval
Tickets: www.flightpaththeatre.org/whats-on/lost-amp-findings

To book tickets to Lost & Finding, please visit https://www.flightpaththeatre.org/whats-on/lost-amp-findings.

Photographer: Phil Erbacher

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