OBSERVER: Big Pants
A two-time RAW comedy finalist (Vic 2024, ACT 2023), Chelsea Heaney blends funny situational comedy with an endearing charm in Big Pants.
A musical theatre tragic, she tells of the time she landed her dream part, as Rizzo in an amateur production of Grease, only for it to be cancelled due to Covid.
After suffering through Covid lockdowns, well, one short lockdown as Heaney spent Covid in Canberra, and a relationship breakdown, or maybe a situationship breakdown, Heaney needed a break.
She booked a recovery holiday, a Contiki holiday for 18- to 39-year-olds in Vietnam.
Have you ever been caught in a sticky situation?
A literally sticky “sweat lasagne” of clothes you’ve been wearing for days on end?
This is what happened to Heaney as she recounts a sad, but relatable, and hilarious tale of lost luggage.
Ever spent so much time in one jumpsuit that it started to accumulate layers of perspiration, marking the passing of time like rings on a tree, she asks. A side trip to a tropical island involved a boat ride with unexpected consequences for participants.
After recreating the vomiting scene from Triangle of Sadness, Heaney finds herself stuck in an episode of Survivor.
That is, if the survivalists ever skinny-dip in a sea sparkling with bioluminescent plankton.
Heaney belts out a medley of showstoppers from Cabaret, Dreamgirls, Les Mis, Cats, West Side Story, and Hairspray, complete with reimagined lyrics, proving she is a triple threat.
Fierce and funny, despite the embarrassingly uncomfortable situations she finds herself in, Heaney’s charm lies in her ability to keep the audience laughing along with her.
Review by Kathryn Keeble