one4review | On 15, Aug 2023

Strangely endearing Australian duo Ange Laviopierre and Jane Watt present a tightly-written absurdist show about motherhood and making new friends Or perhaps it’s about relationships with the friends you‘ve already got. Maybe it really is about jazz, or a bucket of blood. There’s a lot going on in this show, and its success is held within the force of Ange and Jane’s performances, which are strong enough to take the audience pretty much wherever they want to go.

The show veers off course several times, so ostensibly we’ve seen elements of a few different shows before it’s all synthesised at the end in the rousing finale. Ange and Jane do ask a lot of their audience – at some points we couldn’t work out what they wanted from us – but never so much that it’s uncomfortably weird, and our involvement is more than rewarded by their commitment and verve. Consummate professionals, they took what the audience offered and made it work, without compromising the integrity of the characters or the absurdity of the show.

Both Ange and Jane have great rapport with the audience, in their different ways, managing errant volunteers and cajoling us into action. While the show comprises lots of different elements, and despite the changes of course, there’s a super-structure holding things together, and the forward progress doesn’t feel contrived. Jane and Ange have clear rapport and chemistry with each other, and this is a fun hour of absurd nonsense.

Reviewed by Laura

Underbelly George Square
21:50 (1hr)
Until 27th (not 14th)