From the moment this show starts, you know three things for certain – Geraldine Hickey is hilarious, has badass fashion sense and a natural gift for dance. The remaining 50 minutes merely serve to confirm that first fact over and over again.
In ‘Listen Out For The Castanets’, Hickey recounts a time where she found herself in a dangerous situation, and how she found the bravery to intervene. We’re taken back to Hickey’s childhood, we explore her love of theme parks and are left in no doubt as to her feelings on drinking. Although her stories are often tied down to specific places – Albury-Wodonga and Puffing Billy, for example – they are immensely relatable. We’ve all been in similar terrifying situations, even if we didn’t react to them in the same way.
Hickey has a gruff likeability that you instantly warm to. Her storytelling style is like the kids at the back of the school bus ranting about their school holiday exploits, using curse words as commas, constantly diverting on to the story of this other cool thing they did. Each distraction from Hickey’s main tale is cleverly crafted, beginning as an apparent non-sequitur but eventually returning to her story in surprising and amusing ways. The jokes may be presented as a down-to-earth ramble, but this is a very polished and accomplished piece of comedy. You are never left in any doubt that Hickey knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s one of those comedians that just appear to be effortlessly hilarious.
‘Listen Out For The Castanets’ is a wonderfully funny show and it deserves a great big audience. I highly recommend you get down to The Imperial and check it out.
Please note – it’s best if you have $2.50 on hand when you leave the house to see this, because if you’re as impressionable as me, you’re going to want to go buy a Bubble O’ Bill immediately after the show.
Geraldine Hickey – Listen Out For The Castanets is on at The Imperial Hotel until October 5.
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/geraldine-hickey-listen-out-for-the-castanets/