[2015027] The Show Must Goon
Four Stripes @ E for Ethel
7:20pm, Sun 15 Feb 2015
The ukulele has become a bit of a prop for comics in the last few years, I reckon: there’s been a glut of barely-funny comedy material that has made it into routines on the basis that a simple uke strum turns it into a “song”, and a handy way to break up the set. And so, when writer/performer Caitlin Armstrong takes to the stage with ukulele in hand, I involuntarily steeled myself.
The thing is… there was no need.
The Show Must Goon follows the booze-related tales of Suzi (or “Suze”, “Su”, or “Suzanne”, depending on the timeframe) as Armstrong delicately presents her transition into adulthood, leveraging those two most fertile sources of material: romance and drinking. There’s lust and heartbreak, cheap wine and vomit, and the stories are beautifully rendered and teeter between sickeningly sweet and painfully groanworthy… Armstrong’s puns are excellent, including the two songs that book-end the performance (“champagne in my arse” is a blinder).
The stories are supported by clever ditties on the ukulele, but also by something quite unexpected: wine tastings. Suzi’s tales each revolve around a particular cheap’n’nasty bottle of booze, which she airily offers to the audience… and they were all, to my rather uncouth tongue, rough as guts. The Gossips Sweet Lips Moscato was a viciously unsubtle poke in the taste-buds, but the Sunnyvale Fruity Lexia benefited from being paired with a fantastic projectile vomit story. The Bowler’s Run Shiraz rounded out the terrible trio, but its accompanying story managed to overcome the affronting nature of the wine.
There’s a moment of sober contemplation towards the end of the show that threatens to drag the jovial vibe down a bit, but Armstrong pops out of it with a fantastically upbeat, yet acidic and punchy, song that delights (though maybe shocking the older sections of the audience). And that left me with an overwhelmingly positive memory of The Show Must Goon: equal parts laid-back and feisty, innocent and rebellious, its blend of quirky songs and hilarious monologue really hit the spot.
The free booze was handy, too.
(27) The Show Must Goon: Gorgeously awkward tales & songs of unrequited love. And nasty wine. With free booze! :) #ff2015 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 15, 2015