THE BROCCOLI BROTHERS
Fringe Bar, 26-32 Allen St, Te Aro, Wellington
20/02/2015 - 22/02/2015
NZ Fringe Festival 2015 [reviewing supported by WCC]
Production Details
The Broccoli Brothers is a three man journey into the world of clowning and physical comedy. Paul Bourke, Cam Venn and Dave Houston waltz energetically into the absurd, transcending the art of clowning to create a truly ecstatic experience that is at once surreal, unique and very funny.
Fresh from a sell-out season at the Melbourne Fringe Festival this show will transport you to a higher plane of pure stupidity.
The Broccoli Brothers has been brought together by a shared passion for the immediacy of clowning. Between them they have spent years immersed in the genre as students and performers. Paul Bourke has studied internationally with master teachers (Gaulier, Fusetti, Bolton) and toured as a physical theatre performer. Cam Venn began clowning at the age of five and has been bringing his unique brand of humour to audiences as both a stage and roving performer ever since. Dave Houston has created theatre nationally and internationally for over 25 years. His solo show, ‘Going my way’, played Edinburgh to 5 star reviews.
Despite their colourful performance backgrounds, clowns exist only in the moment, and only in relation to the audience. The Broccoli Brothers are no different, creating something spontaneous and irreverent through play; always exploring the connection and game with the audience.
The Broccoli Brothers are excited to be performing at Wellington Fringe Festival and are here to present fresh, risky theatre where clowns are at home. Together they dive into stupidity and emerge with performances brimming with truth, humanity and joy.
Fresh from sell-out shows at Melbourne Fringe.
“So bloody good, it’s crazy”
“Delightful, refreshing and very funny.”
“Full of beauty, laughter and pathos”
VENUE: The Fringe Bar
26 – 32 Allen St, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
DATES & TIMES: Friday 20th, Sat 21st, Sun 22nd February 2015
All shows – 8:30pm
Ticket prices: All tickets $15
To Book: fringe.co.nz
(04) 831 0581
Theatre , Clown ,
Effervescent chemistry
Review by Lena Fransham 21st Feb 2015
I don’t know a thing about these Aussie jokers when I arrive at the Fringe Bar – except that they are Paul Bourke, Dave Houston and Cam Venn, all performers of repute whose new collaboration as The Broccoli Brothers seems to have gained them a lot of fans.
But is that the theme from Knight Rider playing? Wow, it’s funkier than I remember. Then this motley bunch of red-nosed odd-bods comes onstage looking something like a large butcher, a lanky skydiver and Thing One from The Cat in the Hat. The blue tracksuit! The full body leotard! The mullet! Oh my god it’s a glory of eighties pubescent embarrassments and they have my ardent sympathy straight away.
Their intro mostly spurns intelligible language, instead communicating with a range of physical absurdities, hoots, gibbering and bouts of what sounds like Tibetan throat chanting. Then Dallas (Bourke) takes charge, welcoming us with earnest and adorably goofy aplomb.
Taking audience rapport to a whole new level, Selwyn (Houston) and Ron (Venn) each suddenly spot a female audience member with whom they fall awkwardly but tenderly in love at first sight. Having won our hearts, the trio then invite us to share in the great spiritual wisdom they have recently acquired on their travels in the East. This launches us into a rampantly silly gallop through Western New Age faddism, which always warrants an affectionate pisstake.
There are few flat moments. At one point the exercise of gazing ‘tantrically’ into the eyes of audience members for two minutes stretches the limits of comic timing, but the highs and lows of the humour are easily carried by the effervescent chemistry these guys sustain with the audience.
Like all the best in their line of work, The Broccoli Brothers get spontaneity, and they know how to get an audience to play. I feel like there’s a New Age pun in there to do with the Inner Child but I’d better leave such wit to the clowns.
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