Along with the contents warning for this show (Violence: Mild, Coarse Language: Mild), there should be Actual Trump Quotes: Repugnant. Because it does contain actual Trump quotes, and even though we know they are repugnant and that the man himself is repugnant, hearing them performed in a comedy show kind of focuses that repugnance. It brings home how surreal the current situation is; that a proven pathological liar, bigot, misogynist should even be remotely considered for the position of president of a world superpower truly boggles the mind.World War T is the creation of 23 year old Canadian theatre maker Blair Moro. It's sketch comedy. It's low budget, raw, uneven, heartfelt and frequently funny. Laughing out loud does not come easily to me, but WWT got a few genuine LOLs out of me, plenty of chuckles and loads of smiles. I even high-fived one of the performers, and I never high-five.
Some of the sketches, for me, fell a bit flat (Ku Klux Klan makeover a la Queer Eye For The Straight Guy... anyone remember that show?) and The Night Before Trumpness, for example. Others may feel differently; indeed, there was constant audience laughter throughout the show.
Others worked really well. The interactive guessing competition where the audience has to guess who is being quoted, Trump or Joffrey Baratheon, or Trump or Tony Abbott etc is a lot of fun and is funny, if kind of depressing when you think about it.
The debate sketch, for me was the highlight. Simple, well-executed and honest, it was funny and again kind of depressing because it's so real. This is the section with all the verbatim quotes that has you wondering what a pompous pig like Trump is doing on the world stage at all. What is wrong with you, humanity?
No wait – the highlight was actually the pinata bit; what pure joy it was seeing people beat the shit out of Trump's toxic, buffoon head. I doubt that I was the only one in the audience struggling not to jump up there and have a few whacks at that ugly thing.
The performances, like the show, were a little uneven, with Juliet Hindmarsh giving a particularly solid, stand-out performance in her many roles.
Overall, I enjoyed the evening. World War T won't change any thinking person's impression of the circus freakshow that has been the 2016 presidential campaign, but it is good to see young talent putting on a fun show in a no-frills environment. Even if the subject matter does, in the end, leave you feeling a little depressed. Get your Fringe on and check it out.
Singles Awareness Productions presents
World War T
by Blair Moro
Director Blair Moro
Venue: The Courthouse Hotel – 86-90 Errol Street, North Melbourne
Dates: 24 – 27 September 2016
Times: 9:30pm / 8:30pm Sunday (45min)
Tickets: $20 – $14.50
Bookings: http://bit.ly/2aLvwLv
Part of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival
