[Published in the Age, October 5 2012]
FOUR STARS
What begins as a lacklustre pantomime by a man in a glittering kaftan becomes an uproarious game between performer and audience.
This hour of silent comedy, which earned Dr Brown (Philip Burgers) a Barry Award earlier this year, transgresses all boundaries of personal space and decorum: he’ll snatch your bag, spray you with sweat as he climbs the audience like a jungle gym and pause to thrust his groin in your face along the way. His aggressive brand of crowd participation is saved by its indiscrimination: nobody gets away unscathed and yet, by the end, it’s somehow enjoyable.
Brown clowns through a range of surreal scenarios: a peasant begging from a soldier or the love affair between two amorous bulls, each with its fair whack of the off-colour.
Dr Brown’s comedy is as indefinable as this show’s title, but undoubtedly refreshing and original.
Currently showing at the Tuxedo Cat, until October 6.
Posted on October 5, 2012
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