Wayne Dixon’s Bum Chin the Musical may seem like a bit of a silly concept for a show – and it is – but that doesn’t stop it from being a great hour of entertainment.
Tucked away in a nice little cinema at the back of Hotel Discovery, Wayne has created a dystopic future where the evil King Stark controls all reproduction through the use of Gary, his DNA manipulating super computer. No genetic trait that offends the sensibilities of the King are allowed. This world is thrown into chaos by the arrival of Bum Chin – a man whose chin is cleft such that it appears that he has a bum upon on chin (much like Wayne himself) – who must put a stop to King Stark’s machinations before the world meets a fate worse than Emo.
The show is performed with only Wayne on stage taking on the persona of both the villain (King Stark) and the hero (Bum Chin). Other characters, such as the rather Ringo Starr-like disembodied voice of Charles Darwin and Gary the Computer take part in the performance through the use of pre-recorded animation and audio.
This is billed as a musical, and there’s five or six numbers to hum or sing along to – from the opening parody of Monkey Magic to the heartfelt balladry of “So I Got a Bum Chin”. As a singer, Wayne makes a great comedian, but what he may lack in singing ability, he certainly makes up for with enthusiasm.
Being opening night, there were a few hiccups – a couple of technical difficulties and misfired animation queues were obviously undesired, but Wayne’s strong background as an improviser allowed him to cover up any problems and turn everything to his advantage. All the performers, animated or otherwise, have a tendency to step out of character and provide commentary on the show, and some scenes made use of the pre-recorded characters missing their queues or fumbling their lines, making any misstep of Wayne’s seem simply part of the show. In particular, a few forgotten lines led to Wayne trying to fill in with whatever he could to match the next response from the computer, leading to moments that were probably funnier than anything that could have been written in.
This is an ambitious and well written performance and a great showcase for Wayne’s talents as a writer, performer and improviser.
Bum Chin the Musical is on Tuesday through Sunday until April 29th. For more details and ticket purchases see the comedy festival website.