Lee Naimo in Finding Lee

By Lisa Clark 

You might know Lee Naimo better as the guy with the guitar in the widely and wildly popular rock comedy act Axis of Awesome, he is also well known in impro circles as a National Theatre Sports Champion and was involved in the festival show Scrabble Unscripted. Here he is alone in what appears to be his first solo show, but his many years of experience are evident in a stunning and hilarious show.

It was a little slow to get going with Lee explaining that he was not long off the plane from the UK which is fairly obvious in his exhausted looking eyes and the first couple of skits not going so well, but pay attention because they pay off as the show goes along.

Lee has created some delightful sketches around interesting characters that have had great names bestowed upon them. The third sketch in and I was nearly on the floor in tears about Mr Vampire Man who runs a very silly theatre restaurant. We could not explain what tickled us but clearly it was Lee’s comedic skills.

Further highlights included a sexy bassoonist, a nasty foam puppet and The Pied Piper of Hamlyn. There is some gentle fun poking at Live Role Playing and a special guest appearance by The Sorting Hat. He has a good running gag no doubt inspired by his recent travels and proves that he knows a bit about creating magic.

Be prepared to join in with the fun as Lee incorporates an almost dangerous level of audience participation and relies upon our good will for many of his sketches to work. Luckily his years of impro pay off in his ease with audience interaction and it’s all a lot of fun.

Lee proves a widely skilled performer, this show obviously allows him to show off what he is capable of away from his role in The Axis of Awesome. The sketches feel pretty random yet ultimately you realise it is expertly and beautifully constructed with an ending that made the audience gasp.

Finding Lee is on at The Imperial Hotel until Oct 5

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/lee-naimo-in-finding-lee/