Bollywood Boulevard is an amusing enough look at a number of fairly obvious targets in the topic of India-and-Australia. Uma herself is a friendly, attractive performer who recently migrated here and is looking around at the glaring cultural differences and quirky features of both countries. What she has come up with is at times original but more often somewhat stereotyped. For me the most striking sections were glimpses of convent life in India, including a Bollywood version of Macbeth (this idea could have gone much further), and the bandits in search of milk powder, an image at once amusing and poignant. The many fleeting references to Slum Dog Millionaire, curry, the Kama Sutra, Aussie Rules, etc, etc, are not exactly surprising, and the performer’s occasional hesitancy in delivery makes them still more slight. And, as she is the first to admit, her Aussie accent is, shall we say? questionable.The show was not helped, on the night we attended, by several things. The lighting was poor. There was much confusion over use of the mike (move with it? stay at the stand? is it needed at all in this tiny venue?), and Uma seemed undecided whether to just do stand up (which would be fine), or combine it with physical comedy, which of course meant putting the mike in the stand, doing some movements, picking it up again later, but by then the clip had slipped… As for its length, the usher might also poke her head in to say ‘Ten minutes, Uma!’, rather than have the performer check her watch so often...
Worst of all was an audience member who laughed so long, loudly, indiscriminately, and generally alone, as to inhibit other people’s responses and hold up the performer, who was too polite to just ride over it and push the pace this material certainly needs. Much of the show was simply too slow.
There are several great ideas in her material, and Uma has an engaging personality, but more depth in the writing, more self-sufficiency in the performing (we need some really inspired, self-contained raves), much tighter control over staging, and more help from the venue would aid matters. We hope to enjoy Uma again at a later date.
2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Bollywood Boulevard
The Uma Huma
Venue: LOOP Project Space & Bar | 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne
Dates: 9 – 12 April, 2011
Times: Tue & Sat 6pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $15 – $12
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | at the door