Pop Mashup: Happy Birthday Doctor!

by Noel Kelso

Last November the British sci-fi show Doctor Who had its fiftieth birthday. To celebrate this occasion writer and performer Katherine Phelps created Pop Mashup – Happy Birthday Doctor, a love letter to this very show.

Taking the form of a single adventure which mixes a newly regenerated Doctor with characters from the Harry Potter series of books and a certain surly feline internet meme, the result is a show reminiscent in style and content of the great British tradition of pantomime. All that is missing is calls of ‘It’s behind you!’

A newly regenerated Doctor crashes the TARDIS close to where Hermione and Harry have been hanging out in some woods but Harry has recently gone missing and there is a mysterious letter left for the Doctor. The plot’s not really all that important, though, as it makes about as much sense as your average episode of Doctor Who.

The show contains lots of geeky references and songs and the cast acquit themselves well.

Overall the audience enjoyed the show – laughing along at the gags, although some may have gone over the heads of the younger members present. It was a pity there were a few technical difficulties however, when at times, it proved difficult to hear some of the dialogue when it was drowned-out by the music playing over the sound system.

Stand-out performances for the show were Ruben Francis who managed to capture the very essence of the Doctor as a character and Melinda King who played the buxom villain, Tard the Grumpy Cat, with scene-chewing fervour.

Pop Mashup – Happy Birthday Doctor is at the Butterfly Club in Carson Place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 4pm until April 20th.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/pop-mashup-happy-birthday-doctor