Although we try and put our best face out in the world, when we look down deep inside, we’re all a bit garbage sometimes. In Human Garbage, Dairy Kweenz (Colwyn Buckland, Taylor Griffiths, Filip Lescaut and Lena Moon) play a cavalcade of characters that represent some of our crummier traits, and you can’t help but laugh as you shamefully relate to them all. It’s a hilarious hour of sketch that will leave you wanting to see more of their misguided creations.
The sketches in Human Garbage are loosely tied together by theme, but the one thing they’ve all got in common is a dedication to strong characters, played with nuance. Buckland, Griffiths, Lescaut and Moon throw themselves into their roles, whether it be a rude businessman, an overly strident feminist or a rapping psychologist.
The most successful pieces didn’t rely on set-ups and punch-lines, but rather had their strength in creating a person on the stage and finding the laughs in the specifics. A sketch satirising big banks trying to win over LGBTI customers – in particular taking aim at ANZ’s “GAYTM” campaign – was an absolute winner. Lescaut’s rendition of a bank manager was pitch-perfect, sitting in an awkward grey area between boasting about his tolerance and attempting to hide his total discomfort.
The show is an impressive effort for a group that only formed at the start of the year. These four performers have the chemistry of a far more seasoned act. Dairy Kweens will be doing a regular spot at the Improv Conspiracy once the Fringe Festival is over, and if Human Garbage is anything to go by, this is a group worth keeping an eye on.
Dairy Kweenz – Human Garbage is on at the Improv Conspiracy Theatre until September 23
https://melbournefringe.com.au/program?event/human-garbage/6509a886-54ad-4d1c-ada0-aa24d1ac4c1e