Madelaine’s Score: 3/5
Monty Python, Meme culture and Indiana Jones’ wardrobe walk into bar; except it’s not a bar, it’s the infamous Giant Dwarf Theatre and what follows is a hilarious and ridiculous amalgamation of the three.
Sketch comedy group, Johnny Cobra are excited to be staging their full length comedy show, Jurassic Arc at the historic temple of comedy, The Giant Dwarf. The iconic venue has been home to many comedic greats including Andrew Denton, Rove McManus and Hannah Gadsby. The ensemble promptly reminds us of this when it becomes apparent that they are on stage without a show to perform because they spent the entire rehearsal period bickering and sulking over creative differences and terrible choreography. There is some ambiguity around how, but the ensemble find themselves on an island deep in the jungle ruled by a comedic deity (Mikaela Atallah). The highly metatheatrical introduction to the show is, as consistent with great comedy, equal parts stupidity and intelligence. It provides setup of what is a dramatic quest of sketches that the troupe must perform in order to satisfy the God of Comedy.
The performers are exceptional to watch on stage. Each actor has an intelligence and awareness with which the move and adopt the heightened caricatures within each sketch; often parodying themselves through gender and size. The venue itself presents a huge challenge technically as a large space with acoustics that do not work in favour of the un-miked actor. Audio levels and vocal capacity can be adjusted, but the performers quickly warmed up to the sold-out house and projected accordingly.
The entire ensemble is very strong but special mentions must go to Brenton Aimes whose ability to shed and don distinctly different characters – ranging from small child to CEO – as sketch requires is unparalleled and to the female performers, Mikaela Atallah and Jessica Murphy. Both actors stand out with their vocal energy and hilarious, clowning conviction to what in other contexts are seen as the supporting “female, young, pretty” roles. The deliberately ironic and consistent acknowledgement that there was the ‘token female’ (Murphy) in the troupe took some pressure off this, but did not not solve the problem that the work presents. In 2019, as artists we have a responsibility to do more than merely point at a problem and acknowledge its existence. It is the expectation, particularly with comedy which is a device that can make us laugh and reflect at the same time, that we go one step further and question the why, and how it might shift.
The production overall is highly entertaining and a brilliant night out in our city’s creative centre. The level of wit and satire within the writing is sublime and with more representation for the female characters, would most certainly tick all the boxes. This preview played to a full house and a very diverse audience; if you are a theatre veteran, it is for you. If you are a theatre newcomer, it is also for you.
Johnny Cobra’s Jurassic Arc has its official opening on Wednesday November 13 and runs until Friday November 15. I strongly suggest you book now.
M. Osborn, Theatre Now
