By Erin Hill
The Dark Triad Healing Experience is a slow burn that skewers the pomp and self-importance of the self-help industry, with a satisfying sarcastic heat.
It begins with performer Carla Scotto adopting the manner of a Southern snake-oil salesman and asking the audience for the title of a self-help book; for the show I attended the book was titled “Just Try”
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While few comedy groups would be bold enough to christen their protagonist ‘Beef’; Dark Triad is not made up of timorous players. Wry performances by the aforementioned Scotto, Amelia Williams and Jesse Vogelaar, carry the weight of this show as they tackle dark, absurdist worlds and characters that they create together in the moment.
The plot was at times difficult to follow as the trio created many different storylines, which could have drawn together in the end to a more pleasing conclusion in the show I saw. However each thread and character was performed with clinical fidelity, with an overarching tonal choice of gentle cynicism. Williams in particular would follow the bleakest inspiration, blinking her wide eyes as though butter would not melt in her mouth. The comedic tone is refreshingly unique and gratifying in the way that it is gratifying to pick at a scab. Horrifying in ways, but you find yourself left wanting more.
No matter how crazy the setting became, the performers committed throughout, drawling with ironic joy the blithe platitudes you expect from a self-help inspired performance. The show I watched kept harking back to the suggestion; “Just Try”,
Watching The Dark Triad Healing Experience will be just that each time, an experience unlike any other as they make up a show on the spot. From watching their opening night I can vouch however for an uncompromisingly dry tone and evident and endearing support between the cast mates. For a healing experience it might not be as wholesome as you’d expect but it will be amusing and acerbic throughout.
The Dark Triad Healing Experience is on at Club Voltaire until April 20
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2018/shows/dark-triad