Max Olesker didn’t go to his high school re-union. He was invited, as was everyone else in his year level, via Facebook. As more and more people added long-lost friends to the online conversations, many memories came flooding back and Olesker got chatting with his university buddy Ivan Gonzalez.
Olesker and Gonzalez are better known by their first names, performing as comedy double act Max & Ivan. “It felt like a wonderful world to explore so we played around with it for a while and then started writing it last year when we were in Melbourne,” says Olesker of their new show The Reunion.
The pair made their Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut last year with their show, Max & Ivan Are Con Artists, earning them a nomination for the Barry Award, which was followed up with a nomination for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award 2013. “It’s a narrative, multi-character piece in which we, between the two of us, play all the attendees of a ten year school reunion. So we play returning pupils, teachers, all of the friends, lovers, enemies, gatecrashers, a whole cast. There’s no costume changes, there’s no props, its all very theatrical but very quick fire and funny,” says Olesker. “It’s just us sweating in front of you on stage,” deadpans Gonzalez.
Last year’s show was a frenetic sketch comedy heist, but this show, says Gonzalez, “is kind of slightly slower in theme”. For Olesker, it’s telling a more relatable human story. At its core, The Reunion is about characters Brian and Jessica, meeting again after ten years apart. “It’s very funny but it’s got a heart. It’s essentially a love story. It’s a story of Brian who’s an awkward, slightly feeble unwell chap at school,” says Olesker. Adds Gonzalez, “you can’t help but love him. He’s just a dead-nice guy but everything bad happens to him, but he just keeps his chin up and he’s got such a wonderful take on life.” And there’s Jessica, played by Olesker, who is “the prettiest girl in the year who was his friend at school who he longed for from afar but never quite had either the guts or the opportunity or the right set of circumstances to tell her how he felt,” he says.
While The Reunion is keeping Max & Ivan busy at nights, performing in the Town Hall Powder Room, during the day the pair are busy preparing for their second show, The Wrestling, a one-off event next Monday. “I used to wrestle around the UK and Europe until I was about 18. I’ve long harboured this idea that comedians would take very naturally to this world,” says Olesker, who Gonzalez will proudly tell you, used to be Britain’s youngest professional wrestler, Max Voltage The Human Dynamo, when he was 14. “So we had this crazy idea to train up comedians to become wrestlers and it happened, I’m not sure how. But it did,” says Olesker.
When Max & Ivan meet with Beat in a Melbourne café, they are both back from a wrestling training session. Gonzalez is in high spirits because he’s just mastered the Running Senton move. “I’m very proud of that! You run and jump at quite a height and then land on your back on your opponent,” he says, explaining the move. They’ve staged the show twice in Edinburgh previously, where it’s been quite the hit and now it’s Melbourne’s turn. Joining Max & Ivan in the wrestling ring will be comedians Lawrence Mooney, Sam Simmons, Ronny Chieng, Tommy Little, Matt Okine, Tegan Higginbotham, Des Bishop, Jason Byrne, David Quirk and Greg Fleet. “There are other professional wrestlers in the show, so it’s comedians fighting wrestlers, comedians fighting comedians, wrestlers fighting wrestlers, it’s the whole thing”.
BY JOANNE BROOKFIELD
Venue: Melbourne Town Hall – Powder Room, Cnr Swanston & Collins St, CBD
Dates: Currently playing until April 20 (except Monday)
Times: 8.30pm (Sundays 7.30pm)
Tickets: $26-$33
