Hayley Sproull in JUST A PHASE
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
01/05/2018 - 05/05/2018
NZ International Comedy Festival 2018
Production Details
Singing, screaming, surreal comedian’s award-winning style is back!
If there’s a new phase, she’ll stick to it like shit to a blanket. Whether she’s a Goth who writes ‘wiccan’ as her religion on the official census, a Myspacing Emo with a black bleeding heart, or a Paleolithic naturalist who won’t put any chemicals in her body (exception: alcohol) (fine, and Sizzlers) – give her a phase and she’s going full hundy and full serious.
NZ International Comedy Festival’s Best New Comer 2012 is back with another hour of quick-witted, sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-em’ songs, painfully reflective sketches and way-too-revealing anecdotal comedy as she looks back on the phases that formed her – the successful and the disastrous.
“To put it simply, Hayley Sproull is a star” – Pantograph Punch, NZ
“This is no ordinary stand up routine. This is timeless comedy and you will love it.”. – Waikato Times
“Wow you’re stunning… a fucking goddess even… and awesome”– Some dude on Youtube. Thank you.
Hayley Sproull – JUST A PHASE
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
Tue 1 – Sat 5 May, 6:30pm
Tickets: $16 – $20
Bookings: bats.co.nz // 04 802 4175
Basement Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
Wed 9 – Sat 12 May, 10:00pm
Tickets: $16 – $20
Bookings: basementtheatre.co.nz // 0508 ITICKET
Theatre , Solo , Comedy ,
We laugh, cringe, laugh, gasp, laugh ...
Review by John Smythe 02nd May 2018
There is a long-held belief that artistic and comic brilliance arises triumphant from such adversities as poverty, broken homes and/or being raised Catholic, Jewish or (pick a cult), and/or identifying with a disenfranchised minority group. What hope, then, for a person raised in a well-off happy home who went to a “Presbyterian school for white girls,” as Hayley Sproull puts it?
But wait – isn’t Truth the key to good comedy? Or is that Truth + Pain? So what if there’s been no Pain? Except who hasn’t suffered the pains of youthful anxiety, identity crisis and raging hormones? Plus there’s guilt: middle class white heterosexual guilt – that’s definitely a thing now.
Hayley Sproull uses her exceptional writing, musical and performing skills to prove that even her privileged life is fertile ground for a hugely entertaining exploration of the phases she’s gone through over her 28 years to date.
From her evocation of an early mistake-riddle piano recital through inevitable ages and stages to her currently happily-partnered-for-seven-years status, she has us in the palm of her hand, provoking with the odd prod or squeeze. Because while it seems to be all about her, it’s just as much about us, regardless of gender or generation. She holds up the proverbial mirror.
The phases are four – ‘Slutty School Girls’; ‘Goth’; ‘Emo’; ‘Political’ – illustrated with photo-montages (which, placed as they are on easels, reflect the stage lights making them hard to see from some angles). A rack of clothes helps ring the changes. (No mention of her being a Marching Girl, though. Maybe that’s more of a constant than a phase.)
And, of course, the songs. ‘Not Just a Phase’ is the recurring theme as she asserts this time it is the real her. My favourite is ‘Imagine a World with No Guns’ … except … That needs to be on YouTube, IMHO.
Sproull’s capacity to interact with the audience and drop shock-bombs while pursuing her central storyline makes for an invigorating show. As for the Smash the Patriarchy/Free the Nip sequence, nothing exemplifies better her skill at playing havoc with our moral, social and political sensibilities. Brilliance.
Throughout the hour we laugh, cringe, laugh, gasp, laugh … Don’t miss it.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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