★★★
Ever thought of what it would be like if the security guards of Australia’s off-shore detention centres finally decided to give the detainees of these compounds exactly what they want… amateur theatre. This bizarre resolve is the basis for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival show entitled ‘Three Guards on Manus Island’ and you, the audience, are their detainees.
Starring Josh Cake, James Gordon and Sandy Whittem as the three eponymous guards, the trio endeavour to take the audience of the Butterfly Club through a series of disconnected sketches and skits under the banner of their own amateur dramatic society. Politically incorrect quips abound, taking sharp jabs at the Australian government’s practise of containing asylum seekers in places such as Manus Island.
But for the most part, the show is filled with an array of light, comedic scenes unrelated to the topic at the centre of it all. Amusing skits flourish, including satire about what type of food you identify as (the answer is cheese) and whether it is socially acceptable to shit in the shower (it isn’t), supplying the show with a silly, whimsical but often abruptly dark brand of humour.
However, where ‘Three Guards on Manus Island’ shines, despite all of its amateurish shortcomings and roughness around the edges, is in the inventive and fresh ideas put forward by the trio of comics. Questions that no-one else would have thought to ask are being called to attention, like what would happen if television, gardening personality Costa Georgiadis suddenly decided to shave his beard off or what if seagulls decided to assert their rights upon the human race?
Recurring gags had the best impact on the audience, such as Gordon attempting to instruct Cake as he played classical music on the keyboard. Yet it always came out as ‘Billy Joel’s seminal classic ‘Piano Man’’ – a silly repeated gag that was bewilderingly funnier than it had any right to be.
Where the show falters is in regards to menial degrees of polish and professionalism. It was sad to see punchlines often lost or buried underneath poor enunciation and delivery, as well as moments of awkward staging and clunky transitions.
But these shortcomings don’t entirely detract from the hilarity of the show, which is still allowed to shine through the imperfections. The potential that Three Guards on Manus Island presents for Cake, Gordon and Whittem as comic actors is highly promising and their show is most certainly worth the watch.
Highlight: Surprisingly dark moments punctuating hilariously comic scenes.
Lowlight: Potentially great jokes lost underneath poor delivery.
Crowd favourite: When they just won’t stop playing ‘Billy Joel’s seminal classic ‘Piano Man’’.
