Having a beer with Liam Ryan of the Big HOO HAA was like catching up with an old mate you haven’t seen for a few years – quickly chewing the fat about irreverent subjects and chatting about funny times This is how Liam described the feeling of the Big HOO HAA crew, ‘We’re all just like a big family and love performing together which makes the on stage interactions so seamless and fast.‘
Liam started in the Big HOO HAA 3 years ago back in Perth and has really missed the Friday Night gathering performances so is pretty excited about the Melbourne iteration. ‘Starting up here, we have a pool of about 10 people that will create the show each week but this will grow as the show grows.‘
Liam describes the Big HOO HAA as a mixture of Theatre Sports and Whose line is it anyway. It’s a collaboration of actors and comedians who play out constantly changing scenes. Two teams of 3, the Bones & the Hearts take to the stage for 2 hours of improvisation where it sounds like anything can occur. A referee takes charge for scoring and to break up a scene that could be heading pear shaped, or better known as “riding the cheese bike”. On the whole, the show can be anything that the audience wants and the actors feel like delivering. ‘Given that we know each other so well, there is always banter and piss taking of each other when we make a mistake.‘
Having this chat to Liam has got me really looking forward to heading along this Friday for the opening night to see what they can produce. With his description of how random it can be and his enthusiasm for the show, it was hard not to get excited about it and I have a feeling that I could become a bit of a regular on Friday nights at the Portland Hotel.
The Melbourne Version of The Big Hoo Haa begin on Friday 16th of July. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $14/$12. You can prebook through TryBooking.com
Many thanks to Liam for his time.