By Colin Flaherty
There isn’t a more Fringe venue than a small living room in a flat in Elwood. Joseph Green uses this intimate space to present a series of amusing stories from his life about finding acceptance and love. Not only is he letting you into his home, he is also letting you into his heart…or I’m reading too much into this and he is avoiding paying venue hire.
There was zero signage pointing the way to the venue so you need to head to the first flat on the upper level. With an amplified microphone set up near the front door, you wonder what the neighbours must think of these nightly shenanigans. In spite of jokes about serial killers and orgies, the awkwardness of being in a stranger’s home quickly subsided.
Each night has two guest performers who serve as warm ups and emcee for Green’s performance. On this night we were treated to tight-ish fives by Adam Jacobs and Jacqueline Mifsud. Jacobs was a rather dapper gent who delivered plenty of wacky observations with plenty of pregnant pauses and a bit of mugging that was a delight. Mifsud told a number of amusing tales about living in Paris and dating a French fella which was a little raunchy at times.
Green gently eased himself into to the show proper, a collection of stories about the amusing situations he found himself in as he searched for a vocation and a soul mate. He was an engaging storyteller and had plenty of amusing gags peppered throughout but he tended to include excessive details. Even though these tales had hilarious payoffs the journey often became a bit of a slog. I’m sure further experience will see him tighten these tales into lean and punchy stories.
With these informal environs the show had an extremely relaxed atmosphere around it, causing Green to have a major issue with time management. He had given himself quite a lengthy script to deliver, that had to be digested in full so that the show could neatly wrap up, which easily exceeded the advertised 50 minutes on its own. Factor in the two support acts and opportunities to banter with the audience, and this show ran way over time. Punters should ensure that their schedules are clear immediately following this performance until Green does some major editing.
Despite its flaws, this was an entertaining show in a unique setting that was an experience worth undertaking.
ah yes, the music is on at Treehouse (& two nights at Longplay) until October 3rd
https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/8ede0c5a-2bc8-4f8a-a95c-6a06ff155129