Emerging from the Student Revues of Sydney, The Nice Guys have brought with them a show consisting of a non stop barrage of dark, twisted sketches with a surreal edge.
We had a Muslim Cleric conducting a sermon of various different religious rites whilst involved in some inappropriate contact with his congregation. There was a strange cooking segment that involved lots of cream. We saw an interview where a Hippyish artist proposed an outrageous concept to a funding body with lots of mangled language. At a press conference we saw a stereotypical boxer explaining what questions he wouldn’t answer, yet going into great detail about them. The show was rounded out with a sketch where jealousy between school friends ended with the song “I wish I lived with other people’s families”.
They have created some brilliantly grotesque characters that all have an extreme streak of eccentricity. We were introduced to people such as Rip Whitening the over the top Motivational Guru, a unsatisfied and very vocal Gimp and an ancient Anzac Poet. A recurring character was the bizarre Maitre D’ of the “Satin Chainsaw” restaurant who popped up in a few sketches. In some highly physical performances, their portrayal of every character was completely over the top and always to the perfect degree of outrageousness. While some may not like this sledgehammer approach, I found that it enforced the nonsensical mood of the show.
They cleverly toyed with the language associated with the characters especially ones such as the Arts Council Board Member with his ArtSpeak and the Maitre D’s food descriptions. Fans of word play will enjoy the a monologue about the superiority of the English language and the scene with two guys insulting each other using the tamest taunts imaginable. A generous helping of puns and pop culture references were included in the script that ranged from the stuff of groans through to knee slappers.
Although it was a little slow to start (possibly just the time it took for us to get into the necessary head space), the sketches were consistently amusing. I was pleased to hear others laughing along with me to all the sick and twisted bits, so at least I’m wasn’t the only sick puppy in the crowd. This show is not to everyone’s taste, but if you are in the right frame of mind, you will find plenty to enjoy.
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