melbourne comedy

Maybe He’s Born With It Maybe It’s ADHD

Maybe He's Born With It Maybe It's ADHD

Maybe He’s Born With It Maybe It’s ADHD Rating

★★★★★

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1

Do you need an emotional rollercoaster of a show that will make you laugh and cry and then, upon further thought, inevitably question all of your actions as possibly neurodivergent?

Yeah, neither did I, and yet I find myself wanting to go back for more!

Upon entering the theatre (and having no previous knowledge of Colin Ebsworth, my assumptions were a comedy show with probable laughs and maybe some relatable content. Little did I know that I would be crying both from laughter and sadness by the end.

Ebsworth is (in short) an insanely talented comedian and wordsmith who managed to convey so many different emotions of relatability, anguish, confusion, satire, wittiness and much more as we are walked through his experience as a neurodivergent child. As someone who has Autism (of which there is a lot of cross-over with ADHD), I found it refreshing to find someone who had some of the same issues as me growing up and was able to articulate it accurately.

All whilst sitting on a stool on a stage in a spotlight with a remote and a few lagers.

 

Maybe He's Born With It Maybe It's ADHD
Maybe He's Born With It Maybe It's ADHD

I also genuinely enjoyed the creative use of both vocal effects and music to enhance the story. And so did the audience! I took my best friend (who is ADHD incarnate) with me and her reactions were vivid and similar to mine. As were the rest of the attendees. We all gasped together, laughed together and felt deeply together. It is no mean feat to be able to create an atmosphere where everyone is invested both individually and as a collective audience.

This show is so important not just for those that are neurodivergent, but also for those that have neurodivergent individuals in their life. It’s content of this show will only continue to become more and more valuable as time goes on.

So, even though this show for Melbourne Fringe is sold out, I would unquestionably recommend that you keep an eye out for Colin Ebsworth and any of his future shows. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next and will be attending prepared to feel the full range of emotions next time!

For further information about Colin Ebsworth, please follow: https://linktr.ee/colinebsworth

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Colin Ebsworth – Me, My Cult & I: Bold Storytelling

Colin Ebsworth - Me My Cult & I

Colin Ebsworth – Me, My Cult & I Rating

★★★★★

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Colin Ebsworth’s show at the Melbourne Fringe Festival was held at the Trades Hall, the festival’s bustling hub. The show, titled Colin Ebsworth – Me, My Cult & I, takes the audience on an intense, multi-layered journey through Ebsworth’s life, family, and the cult that brought them together.

Ebsworth was raised in a South Korean-led religious movement, the Unification Church, commonly called the Moonies. In the 1980s, Reverand Moonie, a man who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, married Ebsworth’s parents at a mass wedding in Madison Square Garden. From this extraordinary beginning, Colin unfolds a complex and deeply personal story.

With a mix of rapid-fire storytelling, music, and a PowerPoint presentation, Ebsworth passionately recounts growing up in a cult and grappling with undiagnosed ADHD. There’s a lot to unpack here, and while the show was sometimes overwhelming with its myriad storylines, it was also packed with poignant moments and humour.

Ebsworth’s narrative darts between his parents’ arranged marriage, their move from the US to Australia, and the emotional isolation they experienced due to the cult’s restrictive nature. The disconnection from his father’s family in Perth because they weren’t part of the church added layers of complexity to the story.

 

Colin Ebsworth - Me My Cult & I
Colin Ebsworth - Me My Cult & I
Colin Ebsworth - Me My Cult & I

The show isn’t just about the cult, though. It’s about belief systems, family dynamics, and the ongoing search for identity and hope.

Ebsworth’s delivery is fast-paced and almost breathless, and as an audience member, you need to be fully attentive or risk missing important details. It’s a challenging ride that feels meaningful, as different sections of the story will resonate with different people. The overarching theme does emerge: while we can’t undo the past, we can still move forward.

There’s no doubt that Colin is a gifted storyteller. Still, his choice to cover so many intricate layers made it hard to resolve everything cleanly. That said, his passion and energy kept the audience engaged throughout. It’s the kind of show that leaves you with much to think about and will spark conversation afterwards. I’d like to see how this performance evolves in the future as Colin continues to live and tell his story.

Overall, it’s an insightful and enjoyable show full of witty observations and heartfelt reflections. It’s definitely worth checking out if you enjoy performances that make you think and challenge your perceptions.

For tickets, book @ https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/colin-ebsworth-me-my-cult-i/

Dates 09 – 13 Oct – Time 7:00pm, 6:00pm (60 minutes)

For further information about Colin Ebsworth, please follow: https://linktr.ee/colinebsworth

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Shrapnel

Shrapnel

Shrapnel Rating

★★★★★

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‘Shrapnel’, performed by Natalie Gamsu at Fortyfive Downstairs, is a distinctly charming recital depicting Gamsu’s life from being a young Jewish girl living in Namibia to performing in underground cabaret venues in Johannesburg to her life in Australia. Written by Natalie Gamsu and Ash Flanders and directed by Stephen Niccolazoo, the show is tastefully pertinent and yet totally unique.

The show runs a little over two hours without intermission, as Gamsu pulls the audience through a series of personal chronicles, beginning with her experience as a young Jewish girl dreaming to break free from the humdrum reality of her parents and the restrictive culture she was raised in.

In her opening ballad, Gamsu sets the scene – she is a hopeful young woman pursuing the world and all its wonders. The audience warms to Gamsu as she connects with every pair of eyes in the auditorium, one by one, before amusing the audience with tales of her love for exoticism through animated dialogue.

Gamsu bravely dives head first into describing experiences in matters often unspoken and outlawed as taboo. Her performance evocatively retells deeply personal experiences involving struggles with negative body image, her journey navigating a neurological health condition, and serious contemplations of suicide.

Shrapnel
Shrapnel

She recalls her experience being the daughter of a white Jewish family during South African apartheid, her love and loss of the black servants who raised her, and the diabolical persecution she witnessed within her community. Gamsu brings authenticity to her stories, which are so painstakingly well-written and delivered with a unique wit, allowing her audience to relax into her two-hour-long recital fully.

‘Shrapnel’ is performed in a way that dignifies Gamsu’s deepest secrets and induces the audience into bursts of laughter through a series of self-deprecating anecdotes and colourful descriptions of her favourite influential figures. Among the most memorable of these are her peculiar first casting agent in Cape Town and the eccentric directors of a cabaret club in Johannesburg.

As the recital nears a close, Gamsu describes a fond, long-awaited love from her mother amid her battle with dementia before closing her performance with ‘A Song For You’, affording herself a well-deserved and heart-felt standing ovation.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Kaboom! A Cracking Science Show for Kids

Kaboom! A Cracking Science Show for Kids

Kaboom! Do you like ice cream? What about your air conditioning? I’ll bet you especially enjoy not having Polio, don’t you?

If you think science is a boring subject best left to school kids, you might be surprised to know that all the things named above were created by, you guessed it, science! Just ask Magnus Danger Magnus (yes, it’s his real name!).

Magnus is a supercharged, multi-award-winning, high-energy entertainer with, as he tells you himself, absolutely no qualifications whatsoever. We spent a delightful Saturday afternoon in his company as he shared his gleefully explosive science with happy, lively crowds of kids and parents at the Comedy Festival.

With his ‘safety third’ approach to experimentation (first comes flammability, second, wow factor), Magnus rampages across the stage excitedly, armed with the curiosity and energy of a toddler and some seriously dangerous chemicals. He fascinates, educates, and draws you in with his absolute love of science and his absolute disregard for his own safety.

Kaboom! A Cracking Science Show for Kids
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Kaboom! A Cracking Science Show for Kids
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The audience revelled in Vortex Cannon smoke rings and liquid nitrogen experiments that delighted and wowed as they exploded (safely), boiled and turned into foaming colourful messes all over the auditorium. He drew young helpers from a very eager crowd. Everyone, parents included, joined in all the yelling, whooping, and clapping throughout, especially when he sang the periodic table as he turned water into fire all over his hands. Don’t try this at home, kids!

Magnus’s infectious enthusiasm for science makes him the perfect example of someone who believes in teaching things in a curiosity-led, hands-on, fun way that will create a whole new generation of science-loving people.

Kaboom is a show that is not to be missed, especially if you have curious kids.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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