The Universe & All The Bits In It
Iris Cinema
11:00pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000
Score: 3
Short Review: Undergraduate
Imagine you're at Uni with one of those bearded Physics geeks who always thought that they were so wacky because they could seriously discuss the pros and cons of each of the Doctor Who villains. Got that image in your head? Welcome to the nightmare that was this show.
I could have sworn I was in a tutorial being led by such a person. I knew I was in trouble when the guy (no names... let's just call him "The Tutor") claimed that the world today should aspire to be like the world portrayed in Star Trek. Oh dear. And it went downhill, real quick, from there. Doctor Who, favourite dinosaurs, and the latest going-ons with NASA were discussed (and I do mean discussed - audience participation was almost begged) in a ramshackle "show" which had no real form or shape, and made me think that The Tutor was here as part of a bet with his post-grad buddies.
Well, I got a few (very few) laughs, and I'd rather go to this again than Bound Sonata, so it gets a skinny 3. However, if you're a Trekkie or Doctor Who fan who feels that you need to vent your opinions upon the world, roll up to this show. You'll be in like-minded company.
House Humans
Bakehouse Theatre
9:30pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000
Score: 7
Short Review: Entertaining
Neat play. One man, his own little insanity, enacted in a small, intimate theatre for all to enjoy.
Peter Green brings his character Victor to life with enjoyable ease. He happily moves amongst the audience whilst portraying the fucked-up ("not weird... you have to be born weird, but you can become fucked-up"), going-to-therapy, wife-is-a-bondage-mistress Victor, detailing Victor's exploits (as well as those of Victor's friends from "group").
"House Humans" was a thoroughly enjoyable bit of theatre. No real faults, no real highlights. Just competent entertainment.
Lano and Woodley - Slick
Masons
7:30pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000
Score: 4
Short Review: Infantile
Oh god, this was awful. I was so looking forward to this show - but all I got was wee/poo jokes and banal sight gags. Sure, Lano & Woodley are great performers - but why didn't they bring some actual humorous content with them?
Maybe it's just me, but Woodley pulling faces behind Lano's back just doesn't constitute humour. To be utterly truthful, I laughed at times during the show. Six times. I counted. Sure, the "audience participation" bit (a slow-motion tennis match) was funny, but not that funny.
Still, the rest of the audience loved it. They emitted some of the loudest laughter I've heard during the Fringe thus far. Maybe the status quo of comedy lies with such infantile antics. Oh, the horror.
Harry the Dead Poet - Live
Swingcat Club
3:00pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000
Score: 7
Short Review: Cool
Harry the Dead Poet (aka Harry Cording) is one cool, cool guy. Presenting an hour of self-scribed poetry in front of a small (but generally appreciative) crowd, you got the feeling that he didn't really care whether they liked his work or not.
From behind dark sunglasses and loud shirt, the Dead Poet recited works that covered themes as broad as politics, environmentalism, and midlife crises. His opening poem, "Poet of the Day", was great, as was his ode to "The Poet's Wife".
Some of his work was a little mundane, with predictable rhythm and corny rhymes. But overall, this mild-voiced (and genuinely likeable) Kiwi provided an entertaining hour of verse.