Tag: Tessa Waters

FIVE GOOD REASONS TO SEE WHAM BAM

1. It’s an all-female showcase show, which means nobody has to hear from dudebros that are like “my girlfriend likes throw pillows!” or “women be shopping!” etc, etc, ad nauseum.

2. Every night will be a totally different line-up, with a few massive theme nights thrown in for good measure. Slumber Party, anyone?

3. We’ve got a truckload of acts already in, like Clem Bastow, Nicolette Minster (Girls Uninterrupted), Lou Sanz, Tessa Waters, Claire Sullivan, Kate Boston-Smith and many, many more. Aww yiss!

4. It’s not just comedy, either; we’ll have acts doing burlesque, spoken word, music, sketches, theatre, characters and anything else you can think of.

5. Most importantly, it’s a fun, welcoming night run by women for whom feminism and entertainment are major passions. Made with love, for you!

For Information and tickets see the Melbourne Fringe website:

Sexytime Fundraiser and Review from 22/2/2011

By Lisa Clark

The Following is a Review from last year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival originally published on Chortle.au. Sexytime was one of my favourite shows of the 2011 Fringe. It’s being re published because Tessa & Kai are taking this show to the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This is a huge undertaking for artists and on Wednesday 13th of June at 8pm they will be performing the show at The Order of Melbourne as a fundraiser for the trip. If you missed the show at Fringe or at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival,  I can highly recommend you go see it and help them on their way

Details can be found Here

Sexytime – Review from 22/2/2011

Tessa Waters and Kai Smythe are very brave. Not only because they are performing a comedy show with barely any words, but because they begin it with barely anything on.

Where else to begin an exploration of sex, but with Genesis? In little more than flesh coloured underwear and leaves, they give us an amusing take on Adam & Eve. The leaves drop and reveal naughty bits drawn on with Texta. It’s a sort of extreme version of the nude suits that Judith Lucy, Denise Scott and Linda Gibson used to wear, and it can be a bit confronting in the front row.

Tessa and Kai obviously have a very close relationship off stage, for they often get quite intimate. Between sketches their on-stage interaction reminds me of Die Roten Punkte, with Tessa’s Germanic accent sealing this impression. Kai does not speak at all but still manages to create a fabulous sleazy yet somehow endearing persona. Their flirting with the audience has a consequence that surprises everyone when a girl’s dad kisses Kai on the cheek. He reacts perfectly by going all coy, yet strangely delighted.

The show itself is a neat 50 minutes of silent skits set to music, all about sex. They tend to involve a lot of mime and interpretive dance, so if these aren’t your thing, you might want to find some stand-up. Still if you stayed you might be pleasantly surprised, as was I. Tessa and Kai are simply  hilarious at what they do. I particularly enjoyed the armed combat with cardboard ‘penis and boob’ shield vs cardboard ‘cross with Bible’ shield, played out to the overdramatic strains of O Fortuna from Carmina Burana. Appropriate music, with lyrics that are a celebration of sex, gambling and drinking written by some very naughty monks.

Their final and longest sketch presented all the awkward horrors and delights of a first date that lasts ’til morning. Stripped back down to their undies, the sweet ending mirrors the opening sketch but with an appropriately happier, healthier outcome. Not all the sketches are as brilliant, but their kooky characters are able to pull it all off – so to speak – and keep the audience in fits.

Tessa Waters and Kai Smythe are performing Sexytime at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012 at Underbelly Cowgate Check out the website for details

Tessa Waters – A Little Bit of Standing Up and A Little Bit of Falling Down

By Colin Flaherty


With a theme of happiness, Tessa Water’s new show exuded it in abundance. From the high energy opening utilising party poppers and lots of glitter, this was a show full of joy and enthusiasm.

Exploring the quest for happiness throughout her life, Tessa explained the things that provided contentment to her and showed us the often embarrassing things she had done to achieve them. The use of pre-recorded audio with which she could interact was a wonderful device to transport the audience to scenes in her youth. This was especially true of the scenes set in her childhood where we could get the full impact of the awkward younger Tessa fumbling her way through life in her pursuit of happiness.

Tessa was wonderfully expressive in the theatrical pieces, portraying the naivety of a child with the fearlessness of looking silly to get a laugh. Her delivery in the stand up portions of the show was complimentary with her daggy and bubbly personality getting the audience enthused about the minutae of life while simultaneously laughing at Tessa and her silliness; a vital task as this was the crux of the show.

Dancing became a reoccurring motif throughout the show which provided many opportunities for Tessa to strut her stuff, providing lots more colour and movement to an already flamboyant performance. A highlight was the recreation of a rehearsal at Miss Kate’s Dance Academy. This brilliant piece was equal parts heart-breaking pathos and hilariously daggy triumph.

Some quieter moments were used in the closing segments to contrast the high energy performance. One was a cigarette break which included a monologue about her move into the arts. It was a playful mocking of the expectation for her to become a serious adult and disregard all frivolity. This was beautifully complimented by a “Challenging piece of theatre” set to the overture of The Barber of Seville which was wonderfully stupid and deliberately over long; a great parody of overly serious art.

The closing story about her Grandfather was a moving tale that brings home the essence of the show without being too heavy handed. At the conclusion of this lovely performance, the audience left the venue with a smile on their faces and a warm inner glow. It was a perfect show to remind people of the happiness that everyone can achieve.

A Little Bit of Standing Up and A Little Bit of Falling Down is on at The Tuxedo Cat

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/a-little-bit-of-standing-up-and-a-little-bit-of-falling-down-tessa-waters/