‘A Noughty New Year’ is a knee-slapper
Emily Graetz reviews the 2021 Womn’s Revue.
Boasting a quirky cast, colourful costumes and belly-laugh worthy comedy, Womn’s Revue have put on a delightful performance for USyd’s theatre lovers. Directed by the effervescent Kate Wilkins and Isabella Pinson, the performance marked a brilliant conclusion to this season’s identity revues.
True to the 90’s theme, walking into the theatre felt like immersing oneself into a buttery-fly clipped, silver-streamered world of pop anthems and clashing colours. Seriously, don’t go looking for any silver streamers or colourful balloons any time soon. Womn’s revue has them all…
Whilst the theme was thematically loose, the 90’s and noughty’s inspired costumes, music and staging meant the performance was driven by high energy and upbeat tones. A strong opening musical number established a fun-loving feel for audiences.
The actors were admirably committed to the evening as they managed a range of skits that were both relatable but oh-so entertaining. By the middle half of the first act, the audience had well and truly reached the performers’ excitement levels, with a Bindi Irwin giving birth skit sending the crowd into hysterics and a parody of affluent #Vanlife influencers equally as convincing. The dynamic takes on 90’s middle-class family life, suburban dads and childhood sleepovers were as relatable as they were hilarious. The revue didn't shy away from the weird and wacky though. A slightly absurd musical number on lactose intolerance and a poo-splattered relationship-inspired skit were comedy gems.
The audience was buzzing at intermission and with good reason - the second act reached another level of hysterics. An interactive HSC drama inspired piece was a knee-slapper, as was a crowd engaging ‘4-dimensional’ skit. The repeated return of teen friends throughout the night, Aggie and Pam, as they prepared for Y2K, built comedic tension and the L-plates musical number and drug-smuggling Mary Poppins were huge crowd pleasers. The character work in a Jennifer Lawrence skit, which poked fun at her ‘relatability’, left me in tears and if they weren’t already, another musical number about tapping on with your concession Opal card had the rest of the audience cry-laughing.
What I loved most about this performance was the high-octane character work and clear enjoyment of the performers. They revelled in the absurdity of everyday life and they celebrated the stories that we often don’t get to see on stage very often - preparing for doomsday with your best friend, telling scary stories in the dark at a sleepover and dancing with your mates to pop music. If there were moments of rushed dialogue, breaking character or awkward scene transitions, the performers adapted and the audience lapped it up.
Womn’s Revue: 'A Noughty New Year' was a brilliant finish to the identity revues which have all been spectacularly witty and joyful. It bodes well for USyd performing arts in 2021 and sets a high bar for revues to come. If you’re very lucky, you might even grab one of the remaining tickets - they’re performing until Saturday 8th May. Don’t miss it! And don’t forget your butterfly clips!