At last, the ‘noice’ but ‘unushual’ truth about lockdown
What did Australia’s foxiest morons get up to during lockdown? It’s a recurring joke for which Melt has the answer.
The Powerhouse Theatre at Brisbane Powerhouse was packed for what promised to be a “noice”, “different” and very “unushual” sell-out show.
Fresh from sold-out shows in Melbourne, Canberra and the Sydney Opera House, Fountain Lakes in Lockdown camps it up (and up and up) as it explores what Australia’s foxiest morons, Kath and Kim, got up to in lockdown.
The answer to this simple yet clever premise involves Irish dancing, sex toys, TikTok, a St John’s Wort overdose, an Annastacia Palaszczuk and Dan Andrews dance sequence, antivaxxers and more double entendres than you can poke a comedy schtick at (for example, the plural of sarcophagus is a highlight – think about it).
Dubbing their show a “parody drag play”, a recurring joke to avoid copyright infringement, the performers – writer/director Thomas Jaspers (Kim), Art Simone (Kath), Leasa Mann (Sheryl) and Scott Brennan (Kel and Brett) – have an enormous amount of fun as they camp their way through this bizarre fever dream re-enactment of lockdown.
In fact, for last Thursday night’s show, the cast couldn’t help but break character a few times and laugh along with the audience, something that sent the crowd and performers into even more fits of giggling.
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Like any good drag show, audience participation is a prerequisite. The crowd embraced the silliness and fun and impromptu Irish dancing, even when it was usually at their expense (pro-tip: if you don’t want to participate, avoid the front and the aisles).
The original Kath and Kim was already a pretty heightened comedy world, so the extra layers of exaggerated camp that Fountain Lakes lathers on really amps up the strange grotesquery of it all. A memorable moment is an extended sequence where Kath, realising she has lots of time on her hands to do all of her “dream projects”, descends into a wordless existential crisis as she totters around the family home trying to decide what to do. It was very very weird but also something strangely recognisable for much of the giggling crowd who, I suspect, were having lockdown flashbacks.
A lovely finishing touch was the obligatory white wine and smoke on the patio, a nod to the original TV show and a moment that brought one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Fountain Lakes in Lockdown continues at Brisbane Powerhouse until November 3.
melt.org.au