OBSERVER: Don’t Let Me Eat My Babies
Bizarre and hilarious dark comedy is alive and well in the Melbourne comedy scene if Don’t Let Me Eat My Babies, performed at The Motley Bauhaus by Holly Bohmer, was anything to go by.
In a short season reprising her Melbourne International Comedy Festival show from earlier this year, Bohmer performed an hour of sketch comedy based on a menagerie of quirky twisted characters.
Written by Bohmer herself, these characters came from all walks of life – a Toorak mother, a Lifeline telephone counsellor, a teenage schoolgirl. All were riddled with various degrees of angst and anxiety; being a loner and a loser can be the fate of anyone, no matter where they sit in society’s hierarchy. Full of sharp observations of people’s foibles the writing, for the most part, avoided the trap of patronising or stereotyping them.
In bringing her creations vividly to life Bohmer was the consummate performer. Through her mannerisms, gestures, voice and body work, she launched this ship of fools, a carnival of grotesque yet strangely endearing folk. Moving smoothly and swiftly from as simple a gesture as a raised eyebrow to a Munch-like full-throttled scream, her performance ranged from the subtle to the bombastic.
Credit here must go to director, Matt Jenner, whose work with Bohmer helped shape the show and bring out what was an extraordinary performance befitting an extraordinary array of strange and eccentric characters. Not all of them hit the mark in terms of humour but all were fascinating to watch.
Bohmer is clearly a singular talent and this dark edgy comedy showcased both her writing and performing skills. The combination of these skills in the one performer is rare, as is her keen eye for the absurd and the macabre. Definitely an artist to watch out for.
Review by Peter Murphy