[2015066] Aunty Donna
Aunty Donna @ Tuxedo Cat – Perske Pavilion
7:15pm, Sun 22 Feb 2015
Man, there was some serious buzz around Aunty Donna prior to their short run of shows; I had pencilled them in on the strength of the word “absurd” in their ‘Guide précis, but I got the feeling soon after taking my seat (in a packed Perske Pavilion) that Aunty Donna were really well known.
Apparently, they’ve got a heap of people following them online, or something.
So it turns out that Aunty Donna do sketch comedy… and it’s super polished. The three members of the group – Zachary Ruane, Broden Kelly, and Mark Samual Bonanno – have a wonderful chemistry, and they have their sketches down cold. And – better still – they like to dabble with some unconventional ideas.
Sure, there’s the occasional material that isn’t weird – but parental text messages are the closest Aunty Donna come to conventional. The rest of the time, their sketches are fractured by non sequiturs or just change direction abruptly. But everything just works: songs, sketches, a water fight…
I was bloody impressed by Aunty Donna… but then I started digging on their YouTube Channel. And bugger me if this isn’t the best thing ever. Consider me a devotee.
(66) Aunty Donna: Polished sketch comedy with a serious dose of WTF. #ff2015 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 22, 2015