Comedy Gayla host, Lori Bell
Presented by Feast Festival
Reviewed 18 November 2014
The Feast Festival Comedy Gayla, in the cabaret setting of the Queer Nexus Theatre, was the first chance to see a night of highlights from the queer community’s comedy talent.
We were welcomed to the gala event by the heckler mic holder Malt Biscuit, who sat in the audience and gave the vocal crowd members the chance to be heard on stage. She and host Lori Bell owned the breaks and commanded the show with their outrageously rude banter. Their wit and interjections were fine-tuned to the Adelaide LGBTI scene and were fantastic at stoking up the crowd.
Gayla regular, Bobby Macumber, was a comfortable performer on stage and set the show up soundly for the next comedians. Relative newcomer to the comedy scene, John Cameron, was awkwardly great for his routine. He presented an air of confidence in his new work which guided him through his second outing at the Gayla.
Music delights were on show as well with Eric Khulman singing a dedication to his dead dog and trying to lick your own elbow. It was craftily political and drew some well-earned applause from his playing.
Thomas Murphy, originally from Adelaide, is another up-and-comer of the comedy scene. He is mastering is storytelling form of comedy. The use of contrast in the emotions of his stories is the beginning of a unique style. His stories were personal and well-acted, adding a little bit of edge to his comedy.
Adelaide legend, Vonni, presented a comedy and song set. The tales best received and performed were those in a kind of ‘dirty nanna’ style and were delightfully shocking. Her lyrics and stories are clever and locally relevant. She sparkled in her dress and jewellery, setting the stage alight with more colourful than the other comedians.
Demi Lardner, introduced by Bell as the “little girly boy that could”, was the Raw Comedy 2013 winner and it became clear why the moment she stepped out on stage. She kept making obvious glances at her notes in the palm of her hand but this didn’t detract from the exceptionally skillful improv-like style nor disrupt her neat segues between stories. She effortlessly used her little quirks to connect the short sections and present a well-rounded performance.
The final performer, Beau Heartbreak, was exceptional. The original songs and stunning vocals were mixed into his comedic sketches perfectly. The short performance was nicely timed and utilised the entire theatre to give a larger than life performance.
Many of the performers are featuring in their own shows throughout the Feast Festival. The next special Feast comedic show is the Comedy Great Debate Tuesday 25 November at 8.00pm.
Reviewed by Alex Dunkin
Twitter: @AlexDunkin
Venue: Queer Nexus Theatre
Season: 18 November 2014 only
Duration: 2 hours
The Feast Festival runs from 15 – 30 November 2014.
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