Piggy Nero @ The Arch (Holden Street)
7:30pm, Thu 2 Mar 2006
Score: 9
This, quite frankly, was brilliant.
It’s a simple love-triangle tale told based at the height of the bubonic plague’s popularity. It’s played completely for laughs. And the laughs come thick and fast.
From the moment the busty Mathilde (Clare Thomson) starts scrubbing the stage floor – believe me, only a flashing neon sign proclaiming “CLEAVAGE” would be more overt – until the Shakespearean “all fall down” ending, the Piggy Nero crew have us laughing our arses off.
It’s a pretty physical production – the staged sex gymnastics alone would’ve required a bit of muscle. And there’s a tiny bit of puppetry. And penises. The simulated river and the remote-controlled horse-and-cart are locked neck-and-neck in a battle for the “Best Cheap Use Of Props” title. And the sole piece of audience participation… genius. GENIUS. It got milked for the rest of the performance.
Rude and offensive? Hell yes; it’s not a show for the kiddies. But if you’re after a lot of bawdy gut-laughs, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than The Bubonic Play.