By Lisa Clark
Alex Hines is a Moosehead Award recipient and the audience can see that she has used this opportunity well. This is a big, in your face, production with Alex implementing all the theatrical and comical devices she can throw at it.
The opening section is messy stand up about being a hot mess. She discusses having mental illness, (so chic right now) with tales of childhood trauma, that don’t seem to have punchlines. Her annoying, loosely contained hair that seemed to be about to fall out of its claw clip as she roams the stage was distracting but also expressing what the whole opening felt like. Teetering on the edge of chaos. As the show moved along revealing Alex’s impressive comical acting skills, it seems that the opening monologue may have been a character piece. It may possibly be a parody of a generic angsty standup comedian? Or is it? Either way, I was disturbed.
The pre-filmed videos are the first hint that Alex is not what she seems. They are so slick and she is so poised in them. They act as running gags and as a background story to what’s happening on stage. Alex certainly understands comedy tropes, with call backs, big and small, call backs to call backs, prop comedy, props that are also costume comedy. Her mime skills are superb, and she’s a good singer, but her jokes, which are occasionally delightful and clever, didn’t always land or go anywhere. The story telling was often riveting with a sort of dark, Gothy vibe, including surprising sci-fi elements but the laughs were sparse and often petered out. Sometimes they existed for call backs later on, but had not enough jokes in themselves.
The theatrical nature of Putting On A Show gets more impressive as it goes along. Alex uses the whole of the stage, she has a brilliant audio visual component, great props and stunning costumes. There are several big set pieces in the show which ends with a range of finale scenarios that were, clever, funny and ultimately, satisfying. The stage in a total mess, but the show itself is not quite the chaotic mess you suspected it was going to be at the beginning.
Alex wins me over in the end, hers is a genuinely intriguing and unique voice in comedy. She draws us in to her own weird world that is often completely bizarre and puzzling. Then the way she ties up some of the random weirdness at the end is actually awe-inspiring. It becomes clear that everything is meticulously planned and she knows exactly what she is doing. Or is it?
Putting On A Show is on at The Malthouse until April 21
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/putting-on-a-show