The idea of “Ben Cousins – A Rock Opera” appealed to me for three reasons: One, I’m a fan of minimalist drama and I find that the fewer the props and the smaller the venue, the more personal the atmosphere becomes. Two, I have found that Kieran Butler (the Writer/Director), has a reputation for clever satirical comedy, and his previous work (such as “Che Guevara On The Fringe”) had reached a sold-out status when it was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. And of course three, who doesn’t like a rock opera? So I watched it.
The show is made up of a nice healthy mixture of stand-up, parody songs, satirical pop-culture comedy, and what seemed like excerpts from a sketch show about the wacky world of the AFL. Kieran Butler started the show with a song, and went into a small section of stand-up. The result was that when he introduced himself, and talked to us as a stand-up comedian, the whole thing became very informal. when he was performing later in the show, it was less like a serious performance, and more like “ol’ Uncle Kieran doing his Eddie McGuire impression again”. I personally thought this was great. It’s that feeling you get where one of your friends says something to make you laugh; if it was a stranger, it wouldn’t be as funny. But the general attitude of the show and its performers was to be very personal, and put people at ease. This probably made the impact of some of the more edgy jokes less likely to offend, and somehow… Funnier.
The show is predominantly a chance to make fun of the whole of the AFL, its various attitudes, and of course its appearance on the media. it does this with startling precision, through song (I particularly enjoyed Andrew Demetriou and Mike Fitzpatrick singing about Ben Cousins need for a urine sample “Three Times A Week”, using the Beatles’ song “Eight Days A Week) and pop-culture metaphors to create their sketches and parody the real life people they portrayed. If you are a fan of the AFL, and would like to see a group of people showcase the phenomenon that it is, it’s a no-brainer. Go watch it. For that matter, if you hate the AFL and would like to see a group of people do their best to outline its faults and failures, you would not be disappointed. If you are not really into your footy, or just out-of-date with current happenings, I recommend you read up on the recent history. THEN go watch it.
For more info or booking details go to the Comedy Festival Website