Klunk was not the rock band parody that I was expecting, instead it was a fascinating hybrid of clowning, circus stunts and musical comedy. The blurb was not a series of random sentences put together by someone with a shaky grasp of the English language, all the elements described were included in one form or another. Swede Sideshow Kal and Adelaide born clown Papa Dave performed their version of a Rock Extravaganza which was essentially a low rent variety hour of sorts.
The show was an often ramshackle affair with the complicated setting up of props and awkward exchanges but as you warmed to the characters this added a certain charm. Dead spots were filled with constant banter relayed through their headset microphones. This allowed them to create some subplots in which we could follow some gentle dramatic tension between the pair. They performed as a traditional comedic duo in which Kal played the naïve one while Dave attempted to run the show.
Rock music was a major element of the show with both Kal and Dave rocking out on their electric ukes fed through belts of distortion pedals. They performed some interesting parodies, often extolling the virtues of Sweden. These songs were not the strongest in terms of humour but they were enjoyable in their enthusiastic delivery and silliness.
The show was well structured in setting up a number of standard sideshow stunts in this Rock and Roll environment. Some stunts were a little clumsy, probably intentionally to emphasise the clowning aspect of the show. They employed some clever twists by promising something spectacular and following it up with pure silliness. Some fun segments of audience participation were thrown in for good measure that didn’t humiliate, purely making Kal and Dave look the fool.
Swedish culture featured significantly in the show which gave it a passing resemblance to _1000 Years of German Humour but this was entirely focused at having gentle swipes at Sweden and themselves rather than asserting the strengths of the Swedes. The guys were not afraid to slip in some rather crude jokes and lovers of bad puns were in heaven with the many horrendous examples told by Dave. The material suited their characters perfectly with their “slightly dishevelled but trying to be glitzy” attire.
Klunk was a wonderfully silly and amusing show that was great fun.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.