The world of murderers, serial killers and other life extinguishers has long been a topic of fascination to the public. With Passion of Crime, Xavier Michelides and Dave Bushell (with directorial guidance from Adrian Calear) have delved into this universe to create a show consisting of sketches that deal with the theme of murder and mayhem.
Ultra sensitive souls may have found this subject a little too much to handle, especially given the many graphic scenes the boys placed their characters in. The humour employed was certainly pitch black however plenty of cartoonish elements were included in the script to bring much needed levity. This was not just a show of cues for the audience laugh nervously, instead it was full of hilariously exaggerated situations.
The show was book ended by dialogues regarding the link between taking a life and works of art from the points of view of both the critic and practitioner. This may have given the sketches the veneer of having a deeper philosophical meaning, but we can safely assume that the motivation behind them was the opportunity to push the boundaries using a rather taboo subject.
A number of the characters were portrayed as bumbling fools in order to reduce their fearful personas and most could almost be considered the heroes of the sketches. In order to achieve this some of the supposed ‘moral’ characters were made rather repugnant, especially the host of the numerous ‘Criminal Investigation’ TV segments. Plenty of racist lines ensured that in comparison to this remorseless individual the murders were almost upright citizens.
Xavier brought some brilliant naïve charm to many of his characters that gave these monsters some sort of human side. He was also adept at portraying some fabulous outbursts of comic violence to increase the excitement factor.. Dave employed the shouty, angry persona he does so well in addition to some wonderful moments of restraint where he could play out scenes in a clinical manner thus giving some effective contrast.
The pair bounced off one another well and their timing was perfect. Without props they mimed their way through the scenarios as well as providing plenty of graphic descriptions in their dialogue to aid the audience in imagining the hilarious yet gruesome settings. Off stage voice overs gave some segments a television show feel while a ‘School of the Air’ sketch pushed this even further by leaving us looking at a dark stage while the dialogue took place entirely off stage.
Passion of a Crime was certainly not for the fainthearted but if you are able to tell yourself ‘It’s just fiction!’ you will encounter a hilarious show and a guilty pleasure for the sadist deep inside.
For more info and booking details go to the Melbourne Fringe Festival website