Armed with a degree in Musical Theatre (obtained in Ballarat) and limited experience in the Melbourne stand up scene, Karin Muiznieks made her festival debut with Can’t Afford A Real Show. As the title suggests, it was staged modestly with her pianist, a single prop and no costume changes. This clearly demonstrated that she was indeed a poor struggling actor.
The show was structured as a series of songs linked by Karin’s monologues that were based around the theme of not having adequate resources to put together something others would consider “a real show”. We were treated to songs about topics as varied as the Office of Film and Literature Classification, a Christian object of desire, her employable skills and evil ticket inspectors. Her songs were brilliantly constructed with plenty of comedic surprises contained in their verses and choruses that were never predictable. She satisfied our prurient interests with a number of innuendo-laden songs and added a naïve charm with a number of obvious puns that were met with satisfying groans. A brilliant parody of Marlene Dietrich had the audience on the floor as Karin left her wonderful singing voice behind to ham it up.
In addition to showing off her song parody skills, she performed some covers that allowed her to add her own hilarious twists. The Rowan Atkinson and Kate Bush song ‘Do Bears Shhh In The Woods” was refined with some topical references while Edith Piaff’s ‘No Regrets’ played with the original French lyrics and used some amusing visual aids.
Karin’s stand up segments were impressive for someone who has only dabbled in the scene for several months. Her wonderfully awkward and geeky presence was offset by her total confidence in being on stage. Despite constant references to her shyness, you could tell that she was a woman who loved being the centre of attention. Her material was strong and in keeping with the theme included plenty of gentle self-deprecation. The material led smoothly into each song giving the show a perfect flow. The forced inclusion of some material that didn’t seem to fit the theme was forgiven as she neatly linked back to the main thread of the show. Being opening night, a couple of forgotten lines and missed cues occurred but this added to the show’s charm.
Can’t Afford A Real Show was an impressive festival debut. Through joke and song, Karin kept the punters enthralled and laughing solidly for an hour. I can’t wait to see what she does for an encore.
‘Can’t Afford a Real Show’ is on Thurs to Sun until April 29. See the “festival website”:http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/season/2007/show/11/ for booking details.