Midsumma Festival 2009: Laugh out Loud @ The Glasshouse.

Starring MC Anthony Menchetti, Hannah Gadsby, Geraldine Hickey, Toby Sullivan and Andrea Powell as "Visma"

Midsumma 2009: Laugh out Loud.

If we were Margaret or David we would have to give this 4 and a half stars out of 5! In the age of the DVD, the idiot box and lip sync it is refreshing to go to a live show, especially one that starts with "a round of applause for being gay" and deliciously has lesbian voodoo dolls thrown out to the audience in the first 5 mins! MC Anthony Menchetti did a great job "managing" the show, although, we wonder if his use of the red tick, while funny, might cause a few raised pulses at the Heart Foundation.

Visma "Your perception of my physicality is one dimensional" was a stunning confest and had the audience in stitches. The icing on the cake was the godot like circularity of the beer can craftwork which for some strange reason was not purchased by the audience even at the special price of $50 for 1 or $100 for 2! Loved the "frock" hair and make up combo! Not sure which of Roy or Vizma was the bigger handful. Sadly the reality represented by Visma does somewhat highlight that in this country, state run mental health care works as well as the trains!

Laugh out Loud included all the classics of Australian humour and being at the Glasshouse the map of Tasmania was well and truly drawn. The image of tassie poofter haters confused road to lesbianascus was hysterical. We learnt that a cup of tea, white with one sugar is indeed entree, main course and dessert all rolled into one. Somehow LOL managed to include references to being pro abortion, "hour glass figure with 10 mins left", major haberdashery abuse with Humpty Dumpty served with chips or was that a wedgie or two!

The overall quality of the standup comedy was high although there were a moments in which the audience did not seem to "fully appreciate" some aspects of the humour. In the kindest possible way, we agree morning television is lame and contains more than a hint of sanitised bigotry but it is important to remember that not all straight people are the enemy. i.e. The law should include same sex dolls for caketops as well as those for heterosexuals. There were some "unorthodox educational strategies" and while it is important to for us to know how to fire breathe with kerosene "safely" in an age where the community is increasingly concerned about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol, having 2 bottles of beer skulled on stage did lead to a quietening of the audience.

Most importantly the audience got the chance to laugh a lot and it was nice to see people staying on after for a wee chat in the beer garden. As Anthony said LOL included "suspense, tension with a happy ending and not in that awful massage way"! Judging by the audience feedback We are sure that regular standup at the Glasshouse would be a welcome addition to our cultural calendar.

For more information go visit http://www.midsumma.org.au or http://www.anthonymenchetti.com/

Thanks to Midsumma, the Glasshouse and PK Tix for providing the tickets to this most excellent show.