Naked Unicorn Vomit

By Colin Flaherty

Despite the colourful and intriguing title, Naked Unicorn Vomit does not contain naturists, mythical creatures or the expulsion of bodily fluids. What we do get is Nicole Henriksen from New South Wales doing some stand up and songs, presenting some video pieces and bringing her characters to life.

The show was introduced by Nicole Henriksensen as a sort of TV presenter before Nicole appears as herself to do some stand up. It was always going to be an uphill battle trying to get a small crowd amped up but with actual humorous lines few and far between, it was a particularly hard slog. There were a number of comments (mostly of an absurdist nature) that were absolute gems but getting to them was quite an ordeal.

It seems that Nicole is trying to do the “constant, massive build up with little payoff” shtick ala Paul Foot but she doesn’t have the clever whimsical material to make it work. She spent so much time talking herself up with exaggerated confidence that there was barely any room left for jokes. There was a list of amusing life tips (each given a bizarre twist) and a comically over-dramatic movie trailer to watch so this section wasn’t a complete loss.

Her next character was Electro-Pop Diva “Big Yellow Button” who also banged on about how great she was amongst performing a couple of tunes. The stalker tinged “Why Did You Leave Me Baby” was great even though it was a one joke song that relied on increasingly insane repetition and deadpan delivery for it’s humour.

Next was ex-talk show host and junkie N.K. who between convincing us of how valuable she was to the show spent most of her spot wailing about every little thing and menacing the audience.

Rounding out Nicole’s characters was MC Misogynist who took the Gangsta Rap genre, flipped the gender and extended it to its natural conclusion. This was a one joke concept that outstayed it’s welcome and sounded too much like real Gangsta Rap to be amusing.

All of the characters were one note creations that relied too heavily on letting us know that they were “The Shit”. To make matters worse, EVERY CHARACTER took the pains to explain a lame joke that had gone down like a lead balloon. Using this ploy once can be amusing and endearing but to repeat it in different guises is insulting. Surely she could have executed this ploy with some variety.

There were some interesting ideas and silly lines littered throughout this performance but it was a shame you had to wade through so much dull filler.

NB: If you want to see a show at Dane Certificate’s Magic Theatre, the venue is a little difficult to find as there is no signage on Sydney Rd. You must head down Cozens St and take the first lane on the right (effectively going behind 859 Sydney Rd).

Naked Unicorn Vomit is on at Dane Certificate’s Magic Theatre.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/naked-unicorn-vomit-nicole-henriksen