MICF: Adrienne, Stella and Zoe

MICF

Asking for It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else! 

Adrienne Truscott
28 March 2014
comedyfestival.com.au

Tales from the Crip
Stella Young
2 April 2014
comedyfestival.com.au/

FOMO
Zoe McDonald
2 April 2014
comedyfestival.com.au

As I sat down to write about Adrienne, Stella and Zoe, a fellow-writer posted this on Facebook: "A guy at work just said to me, 'Not to be sexist but I don't like female comedians. They're not funny and all tell jokes about their periods.'"

He said it outloud, to another person.

Anyone want his contact details for a comedy festival date? Unless you're a girl and Aunt Flo's in town,  because you'll just be a bitch.

As a silly girl who only laughs at tampon jokes and doesn't understand proper jokes about beer and blow jobs, I saw some female comedians this week and none talked about getting the painters in. They did talk about rape and discrimination and sex and unequal standards. And still managed to make their audiences laugh.

Adrienne Truscott is best known as a Wau Wau sister. Performing at lots of festivals, she's seen a lot of shows and heard a lot of rape jokes. And she's been told why they are funny.

In many shows I've seen, I've remember laughing at two rape jokes (one by Eddie Perfect and one by The Sisters Grimm). The rest haven't been funny.

Asking for It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else! is Adreienne's take on rape jokes. It was the most talked about show at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.

With wonderful goatee-adding projections, she names those who have made rape jokes and shares their commentary about why people should think they are funny. Because if you have to explain it, it's the audience's fault for being dim, never your fault for not being funny. They also seem to assume that it's only women who don't get the joke.

Based on the joke she starts with, I wonder which performer has already said that it'd be ironic (meaning funny) if Adrienne were raped during her run? And I don't mean "if"; I have no doubt that someone has said this and that people have laughed. I dare you to say it to her. And to me.

It's one thing for my friends to see Adrienne's show – do, she's wonderful and it's painfully hilarious – but this is the show to see if you've ever made or laughed at a rape joke. It's also the show for  comedians who blame their audience when they don't laugh.

And it's for writer Keith's mate, maybe we should just tell him that he'll see naked snatch?

Next I headed north to the Northcote Town Hall where the tampons must be overflowing from the dressing rooms with the amount of women performing .

There's Stella Young's Tales from the Crip. Stella's the crip.

After years of writing, being on tv and compering, she's finally doing her first stand up show.  (A-M, how dare you be so insensitive; Stella can't stand.) But no one can beat her story of a someone asking her to stand up for a bit during sex.

Stella shares stories about the earnest awkwardness she faces every day from well-meaning strangers and total idiots who see difference as an opportunity to show how much they don't notice difference, or to show how down-with-the crips they are. Here's a rule: if you don't like the idea of a stranger asking you the same question or offering you help when you haven't asked, then don't do it to a stranger. And if you have to read a pamphlet with rules about how to treat people, best that you be quiet.

Stella's show is personal with enough distance for her to keep some secrets and is guaranteed to make everyone shudder and laugh with embarrassing recognition. And I will never have guilt about not giving my spare change to Riding for the Disabled collectors; apparently it's not like The Saddle Club!

Also at Northcote is Zoe McDonald in FOMO: Fear of Missing Out. Zoe's multi-character solo show won the Tour Ready award at the Melbourne Fringe and went to the Adelaide Fringe. FOMO has come back to Melbourne as a different show.

It's still about the fear of hitting 30 and wondering why life isn't perfect, but it's tighter, has new characters and has become much more a show about Zoe and her understanding of why she has the FOMO and is terrified of becoming a cat lady. In the first run, the characters were the most memorable (being bloody hilarious), but this time, you leave remembering Zoe.

I nearly didn't go because I had seen its first season, but never underestimate how long runs can influence a show –  and Twitter let me known that I'm not the only person who has the FOMO about not having a Thermomix or an iPad.

So that's three women who didn't make menstrual cycle jokes. Neither did Bryony Kimmings, Hannah Gadsby, Isabel and Rachel or Kate McLennan. In fact, I haven't heard a period joke all festival.

This was on AussieTheatre.com.

Mini review: Death Threats (and Other Forms of Flattery)

Death Threats (and Other Forms of Flattery)

Darebin Arts's Speakeasy

21 January 2014

Northcote Town Hall

to 22 January 2014

northcotetownhall.com.au

Since their first trip down under in 2007, New York's Wau Wau Sisters have been welcomed back with open legs, ticket sales and a growing legion of dedicated fans, except in Brisbane where they got death threats and the audience had to pass through a metal detector before their first drink. One knife and Bible were found.

Death Threats (and Other Forms of Flattery) showcases the content that attracted the most hate. Yes, conservative Christian right wingers will always think that Reject Shop glittery nail polish stigmata is more offensive than threatening to stab someone for laughing at hypocrisy. Right on!

It's easy to laugh at the ridiculousness of it – more so at the plus side of being upgraded to a five-star hotel, having body guards and given alias names – and making a new show about it is a sure way to laugh away any power that the god-fearer created.

And even more on the plus side is that Wau Wau fans get to see some of their favourite numbers and Wau Wau virgins can see what the fuss is all about.

And there's only one more chance to see them: TONIGHT! 

If you find nudity, sexuality, glitter, underwear and wondering what it would be like to fuck Jesus offensive, bring your notepad and poison pen, but don't be surprised if you leave converted to the side that worships gold body paint.

And get excited because Adrienne Wau Wau is bringing her Edinburgh Festival hit, Asking For It: a One-Lady Rape about Comedy, to the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

and more FRINGE profiles

There are still more Melbourne Fringe artists profiles on AussieThearte.com this week including:

Anna Lumb, who I first saw hoop twirling at a Last Tuesday Society gig in Fitzroy, and who brings so much more than mere skill to her performances. See I HEART Jack with World Around Us II  for a pretty brilliant Fringe double feature.

Dan Kilby, whose first ever Fringe show opens on Tuesday and who gave my favourite answer on all the profiles: If you had access to the TARDIS, what performance would you see first? Carrie on Broadway, because I am a gay. I'm now adding Carrie to my TARDIS wish list, because I'm a hag.

Spencer Bignall, whom I'm going to see perform for the first time tonight at Spring Awakening.

and wonderfully wrong and simply wonderful  Wau Wau Sisters

Fringe artist profiles part 3

These disappeared from AT, so here's Anna Lumb, Dan Kilby, Spencer Gignall and the Wau Wau Sisters.

MELBOURNE FRINGE HINT 11

The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper
GH Hotel and Daniel Clarke
GH Hotel, 1 Brighton Rd St Kilda
to 9 October

The wow wow Wau Wau sisters are back!

If you missed them earlier this year, get on your knees and (while you're down there) thank the theatre gods for their return and don't you dare displease them by not worshipping at Wau Wau temple at the re-vamped GH Hotel (that we will always call the Grey Hound).

I saw The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper not long ago.

And am still looking for a pair of Fuck Yeah undies...

Review: The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper

The Wau Wau Sisters Last Supper

the Arts Centre

2 March 2011

the Famous Spiegeltent

spiegel.theartscentre.com.au

If the Wau Wau Sisters end up in hell for being sacrilegious, well I'll be there with them. So will you if you're reading this; and the good folk who got in upstairs because the thought of going down on God or their sister was too much for their sensibilities will be looking for a loophole that gets them down below for the fun.

At The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper in the holy temple of the Speigel, I had my first communion wafer in many years – from a scantily clad schoolgirl with glittery stigmata. I felt almost pious. So much that I was almost jealous that one sister had Jesus coming in her room.

As the sisters say, they're not dirty; they're fucking filthy. Filthy meaning fucking hilarious, sexy as all-go-get and so taught and bendy that you really want to take them home to play with.

The last time I sat at the temple of Wau Wau, I thought their awesome acrobatics outshone their comedy and am thrilled to say that The Last Supper leaves me choking on such a statement. Their material is now as tight as their abs, but feels as free as their onstage morals.  Throw in one of the best double trapeze acts around and audience participation that left reluctant participants dancing, there's no wonder they now sell out wherever they go.

And, where can we get those Fuck Yeah undies?

This review appears on AussieTheatre.com

The Wau Wau Sisters

The Wau Wau Sisters in
12 Steps to Redemption!!
Or God Save The Wau Wau Sisters!!
6 November 2007
The Famous Spiegeltent

The Wau Wau Sisters are truly at home in the Spiegeltent. The Wau Wau Sisters in 12 Steps to Redemption!! Or God Save The Wau Wau Sisters!! parody all things circus, cabaret and burlesque; whilst embracing each genre in their taught, tight and totally to die for thighs.
 
They open with an acrobalance/strip to the 70s soft rock anthem “Sister Christian”. It’s sublime in its blasphemy. Character, content and superior skill combines to create superb burlesque. I was ready for something as good as our own The Burlesque Hour.

The Wau Wau’s are astonishingly awesome acrobats and brilliantly bawdy burlesque beauties. But their comedy writing isn’t ready for alliteration. It’s by no means bad. It’s just not as good as the other elements of the show. Lyrics like “I’ll cut the cocaine if you cut the cheese” aren’t as compelling as catholic school girls with stigmata.

I thought they were different characters from scene to scene – until they pointed out it was a through narrative of their life. The characters are original and very funny, but not consistent and are regularly visited by the performers own characters. The “real” Tanya and Adrienne that appear are actually more intriguing and interesting than their fictional selves. I would have liked to see more of them.

Part of their act is being the ditzy girls who don’t understand all that “bullshit” about transitions and timing. Nonetheless their transitions are original, fun and a little bit frightening for audiences who fear participation. And their bad timing is simply perfect.

Their transition from born again country singers (and yes there was the expected “count” joke) to 80s coke fed popsters is wonderful. As is the Duran Duran “Rio” routine which follows. Is there anything better than black humour in bright spotted bikinis? Like the opening, this routine was so much more powerful than their comedy interactions.

See the Wau Wau Sisters just for the opening, Rio and their amazing double trapeze routine. It’s a lot of fun, but it is a series of characters and routines that is developing into a show. It may need a director and a writer to tone the narrative and the characters as tight as their biceps, and make the comedy/skill balance as steady as their one minute handstands.

Photo by Sara Brown

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com and on GayDestination.net.au.