THEATRE: THE PUNCH AND JUDY SHOW
Charles Dickens once described The Punch and Judy Show as an extravagant relief from reality and as the Tamarama Rock Surfers first production of 2010, The Fabulous Punch and Judy Show relieves beyond expectation. Adapted from the 1832 puppet show and directed by Brent Thorpe, this one act play mashes men in drag with Sherbet (not such a stretch), employs elements of comedia dell’arte, Burlesque (yep, there’s nudity!) and Vaudeville with wry wit, double entendres and loads of toilet humour. “I’m a perfectly well balanced Aussie guy with a chip on two shoulders,” Punch sulks, trying to offer some kind of reason for his misogynistic and homophobic behaviour. The political incorrectness of Thorpe’s script and its performers’ unabashed, no-holds-barred stage presence cuts through any pretense and obliterates any social faux pas, allowing the audience to chuckle and giggle at the spectacle of Billy O’Riordan’s grimacing Emcee and Nurse, or gasp at Hugh Monroe’s hilarious and scantily dressed Judy. Punch (Douglas Hansell), is a modern ‘blokey-larakin’ who’s sure to offend, insult and stir the blood of anyone with a liberal sense of irony and humour. This production is spectacular in every sense of the word.
Feb 10–Mar 6, The TRS Old Fitzroy Hotel, cnr Cathedral & Dowling St, Woolloomooloo, $23.70-38.10 (beer & laksa), 1300 438 849, rocksurfers.org
