The Mullet Brothers Go For Gold
22/04/2008 - 26/04/2008
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
Created by Greg Ellis and Steve Wrigley
BOGANS TAKE ON THE WORLD AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES!
Following on from their 2006 NZ International Comedy Festival success “THE MULLET BROTHERS SAVE THE WORLD…AGAIN” Greg Ellis and 2008 Billy T nominee Steve Wrigley return for more improvised bogan madness.
Encouraged by reviews which described them as “near genius” the boys have dusted off Taita’s new favourite sons Terry and Darren Mullet for a shot at Olympic supremacy. This is an improvised comedy show with a twist – unlike most improvisation that has a solid structure when it begins “The Mullet Brothers” shows begin only with the characters of Terry and Darren and a raft of audience suggestions. “We fly completely blind in this show,” says Ellis. “The audience are going to give us everything from what sport the Mullets seek Olympic glory in to the training methods they use. It’s a tribute to all the great clichéd sports movies we grew up on.”
The last show featured a bogan take on the matrix, scenes played in reverse, dodgy science and the inevitable metal songs. “Terry and Darren have a band called ‘Terry, Darren Mullet and the Ordinary Fear of Russell Crowe’ and the band will be back at The Bluenote for the new show,” assures Wrigley. “Its our little metal fantasy played out for the audience.”
Bogan culture is back in vogue thanks to the resurgence of 80s fashions, shows like “Outrageous Fortune” and big metal concerts in Wellington and The Mullet Brothers is keen to be part of the resurgence. One of the great pillars of bogan culture “close enough is near enough” is also a big part of New Zealand’s Olympic culture. “In the last few Olympics it seems that just turning up and posting a personal best, even if that makes you 42nd in the world, is good enough,” says Ellis. “This seems a very bogan thing to us – and all the carry on the cyclists got up to after hours seems more metal than high performance athletics.”
Dates: April 22nd – 26th, 7pm
Venue: Bluenote Bar, Corner Cuba and Vivian Streets. Wellington
Tickets: Adults $18, Concessions $15, Groups of 10+ $13 (service fees may apply)
Bookings: TICKETEK – 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 5385)
Show Duration: 1 hour
Theatre , Comedy ,
1 hr, no interval
Stereotypes on steroids
Review by Patrick Davies 25th Apr 2008
On a stage almost as bare as an Olympic podium The Mullet Brothers Go For Gold with just their wits, a couch, and ‘The Fear of Russell Crowe’ providing music (on opening night it was a CD player called ‘Russ’).
The show/conceit is that after winning Gold they got so blotto they can’t remember any of the details and Terry and Darren ‘re-construct’ the amazing journey from go to woe, and you’ll also discover why it was all hushed up.
Terry (Greg Ellis) and Darren (Steve Wrigley) gather audience suggestions, at the top of and during the show, that provide the basis of the improvised narrative. The audience’s brief is that the better the suggestions the better the show. Ellis and Wrigley are extremely good improvisers constructing the show and songs out of almost nothing, and work well together making the difficult look very easy.
This kind of long format improv show can get unwieldy but the energy never flags and Ellis and Wrigley keep tight control towards their goal. The Blue Note stage isn’t huge and the set up is very minimal which suits this show where the performers create environments and multiple characters.
Which brings me to what bothers me about this show. Ellis and Wrigley are very capable performers but Terry and Darren are black shorts, black t-shirts and the odd bogan-based catchphrase: whisper thin stereotypes. And the other characters created are incredibly broad.
I would like to see improv comedy not so "inspired by [the] mediocrity". There’s room for more sophisticated performing, not because they’re bogans but because these are two very experienced performers.
Billed as "Outrageous Fortune on steroids" I feel a little short changed given the fullness of that show’s characters. Ellis and Wrigley do shout at each other onstage, like street performers, and could take a lesson from OF.
They could deserve Gold with better preparation but I’m only handing them bronze.
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