‘Real Sketchy’ & ‘Don’t Put That In Your Mouth’ // Brisbane Improv Festival
‘Real Sketchy’ & ‘Don’t Put That In Your Mouth’ were inventive.
There were big laughs at Big Fork Theatre Saturday night with Brisbane Improv Festival’s double feature of ‘Real Sketchy’ and ‘Don’t Put That In Your Mouth’.
Presented by Blah Blah Blah Improv and directed by Mandy Plumb, the ‘Real Sketchy’ show hinged around the live drawings of host Tane Richardson projected onto the screen. He made unfinished cartoon outlines come alive with his quick art, inspired by descriptive suggestions called out by the audience. Then, the cast was tasked with choosing which character to embody while improvising a scene. More and more characters joined the fray as the group tried their best to make a storyline out of the very strange mix of misfits.
Phil Cooke as a creepy long-tongued childcare worker and later, a horned goat man with a rash, stood out, with excellent attention to the details of his characters and his ability to progress the plot.
Host / artist Richardson was also great at riffing off the audience suggestions and enthusiastically jumped into the scenes alongside Jevon Hill, Sophie Carter, Sarah Nicoll and Matt Smith.
Saturday’s crowd loudly enjoyed the show, with tons of participation to help create the characters. An interesting blend of art and comedy, heavily dependent on audience interaction, it was great to see something new and feel part of the show.
The second half of the ticket was ‘Don’t Put That In Your Mouth’, an improv show about parenting, presented by Jim Reynolds and Big Fork Theatre.
Reynolds and two other parents from the group of seven comedians took turns with a show and tell of their own children: adorable photos of their young kids up on screen, followed by hilarious anecdotes that were very relatable to fellow mums and dads.
This comedy troupe had excellent pacing and a natural rhythm with one another. The scenes were short, sharp and to the point; the characters were a giggle-inducing take on parent-child relationships.
Highly enjoyable, an impressive bit of comedy on the last night of the Brisbane Improv Festival.
‘Real Sketchy’ and ‘Don’t Put That In Your Mouth’ performed Saturday, 27 July, 2024 at Big Fork Theatre. For more information, visit Big Fork’s website.
