Comedy and Theatre are two words that aren’t often seen together anymore, it’s almost as if the two had an irreparable falling out and one refuses to speak to the other. But when they do meet, I imagine the pairing to look and sound something like The Glass Boat which is being performed 7.45pm nightly at the Trades Hall as a part of the Comedy Festival.These three young comedians (Charlie Garber, Claudia O’Doherty and Nick Coyle) create a wild world filled with characters that are clever, verbose, and funny - in fact very funny. Watching the show at times reminded me of the inspired insanity of the Mighty Boosh, however The Glass Boat trio have a style and comedy that’s distinctly their own. They run through a variety of characters that range from a girl who’s literally run with the wolves (Clare O’Doherty) but decided that she fits better in the “jungle of concrete”; a naïve feckless doctor (Charlie Garber) who’s mail-order bride is the epitome of the opportunist, smuggling her son along to Australia in her suitcase; an autistic boy (Charlie Garber) whose babysitter (Claudia O’Doherty) has more than just his penchant for imaginary weapons to contend with in the shape of a Giant Frog (Nick Coyle) who has taken up residency in the boys’ room and won’t leave unless he receives his favourite doughnuts direct from Bendigo. Confused? Amused? Delighted? If so then The Glass Boat is definitely a show that you should rush out and see.
All of performers attack their verbose characters with gusto and are not afraid to wait for their audience to catch up with them, which is rare for performers in what appears to be their first major show. Where the show does fall over is that at times the performers pause too long and overstay their welcome, and all of the scene changes and transitions aren’t as tight as they could be. This is something that a director and a little more experience will no doubt remedy. The musical numbers are hilarious particularly the song about Jurassic Park, but at times the group appeared to be working too hard with their voices and as a result it made it difficult to distinguish between the different characters; but again this is a minor point.
I must confess to finding myself very excited while watching The Glass Boat trio run through their paces, as it’s clear to me that these performers are creating something new and exciting, a phrase that is often used as a cliché but in this case is more than appropriate. Go and see The Glass Boat not only because it’s a good show, but to be witness to the birth of some new comedic superstars in the making.
Vanilla Productions presents
The Glass Boat
Venue: Comedy @ Trades, Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton
Room: The Evatt RoomPreviews: 4th – 6th April
Dates: 4h – 29th April (no show Mondays)
Times: 7.45pm, 6.45pm Sundays
Tickets: $17.00 Full, $15.00 Concession & $14.00 Tightarse Tuesday
Bookings: www.comedyattrades.com.au 03 9659 3569
