You loved him as Paul Keating (Keating! The Musical) and you may know her from The Librarians (series 3) or Offspring – now see both of these fine comedians in a different guise. New Year's Eve 1996 and The Nervous Wrecks are playing a gig. Meet Nikki, Veronica, Delta, Joe, Rick and Seamus. Like all those New Year's Eve parties you remember from university days (if you remember them), there is drinking – lots of it, pairing off, breaking up and amidst all the mayhem, some life changing decisions are made.
Fast forward to 2011 and we find our protagonists – all six of them played by Mike McLeish and Fiona Harris – married with kids; married with career; single and an aspiring installation artist. And that's just the women. Joe, a town planner and Rick, a brickie, are married, whilst Seamus, working in advertising, is a serial dater full of Irish blarney and charm. When Bliss, who changed her name from Delta when she went alternative and decided to create art, decides to ask all her old friends to the opening of her latest exhibition, the scene is set for mayhem and laughter as the friends prepare to reconnect over the years.
McLeish displays his musical talent as Rick the brickie, singing rap and later as folk singer Joe who has put music to Bliss's lyrics. I won't spoil the surprise and humour of this for you, but suffice to say, a man singing very female oriented lyrics proves hilarious.
Along the way we are given fleeting comic glimpses into the 'joys' of parenthood, the internal conflicts involved in choosing an alternative life-style; conflict over disparate musical tastes; drugs; missed opportunities; infidelity and loads more.
Written by McLeish and Harris, the show is beautifully directed by Kate McLennan. McLennan's debut one-woman show, The Debutante Diaries, earned her a Fringe Festival award which saw her performing her show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Between directing ...Plus One, appearing as a guest in Wes Snelling's Running the Risque and performing in her own one-woman show, Homeward Bound, as part of this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I wonder how she has the time and the energy to simply catch her breath!
...Plus One is a delightful, bite-size, piece of comic theatre with two very talented actor/comedians shifting easily between each of their three characters. They are so successful that when they take their bow at the end of the performance, you are left waiting for the other 'actors' to join them on stage.
2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
...Plus One
Mike McLeish & Fiona Harris
Venue: Trades Hall – Old Council Chambers | Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton
Dates: 29 March - 22 April
Times: Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $26.50 – $20
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | At the door