Dave Bloustien’s Grand Guignol was meant to play at last year’s comedy festival, but wasn’t ready in time. So, 12 extra months of fine-tuning and a season at the Adelaide Fringe, and it’d be fair to expect a pinpoint-polished performance, right? Not so much. But the charm of Dave Bloustien is such that a little shambolocism actually does wonders for the show.
And what a lovely show it is! Based on the horror plays of the famed Parisian Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, this “comedy of terrors” is ever-so-slightly shaped on the lightly spooky conceit of mise-en-abîme, or play-within-a-play, giving us a collection of eerie stories loosely connected by a shadow puppet narrative involving Hansel and Gretel.
Threading ancient Egyptian and early 20th century French history, macabre Germanic fairytales, coffee snobs and the tragifarce of modern Australian politics (did someone mention shadow puppets?) into a satisfying cohesive whole, the sharp and punny writing shines as Bloustien performs multiple roles with genial and amusing verve, although he is – unsurprisingly – most comfortable in his own skin, so to speak. He does stumble at times, and is mildly hampered by technical accidents at others, but like any good comedian he turns potential disaster into comedic gold.
Because Bloustien is a good comedian. He’s also a self-confessed niche comedian: despite the appearance of a Pharaoh’s detachable penis, this is not lowbrow stuff. It’s also not a gag-a-minute yak fest, preferring instead to build to its punchlines, but it’s fun and silly, and always smart.
BY MELANIE SHERIDAN
