THUNDERPLUMP
Fringe Bar, Cnr Cuba & Vivian, Wellington
06/03/2013 - 09/03/2013
Production Details
ARE YOU READY TO BE THUNDERPLUMPED?
Q: What do Jesus, Luke Skywalker and Freddie Mercury have in common?
A: Gina
Falling like a perfectly formed chocolate-dipped-story-telling-strawberry from the sky, comes Gina Garvey launching her first solo show at the 2013 Wellington Fringe Festival.
Gina says audiences will be taken firmly in hand as she shares personal tales of romance, triumph, disaster and big knickers – from the glamorous cul-de-sacs of Hamilton, to her ancestral cobbled streets of Italy.
“There are tall, wide and wobbly stories to tell, and whether the audience is laughing, crying or just mortified with embarrassment on my behalf when I recount some of my global yet personal mishaps, I think there will be a lot of damp spots on audience chairs – a reliable sign of a great show.”
Appearing in the final four days of the Fringe Festival, Gina’s training as an actor in the UK, and repeated performer on Shortland Street in New Zealand has led inextricably to her launching her first one-woman show.
Gina shares some of the highs and lows of dating some of the most well known stars of popular culture, and launches her top-secret-until-now, newest patented worldwide invention that will revolutionise the fashion world.
She poses deeply philosophical questions to the audience that go to the heart of being human – “Why doesn’t someone invent a petrol pump nozzle that doesn’t drip?”, ‘Is there correlation between the increasing size of muffins and muffin-tops?”
If you like sitting in a La-Z-Boy, sipping a Margarita whilst someone whispers stories in your ear that make you giggle, then you need to get out more – come and see ThunderPlump!
The Fringe Bar, Cuba Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Wed 6th, Thurs 7th, Fri 8th, Sat 9th March, 2013
8.30pm
Tickets: Eventfinder.co.nz OR bit.ly/EventfinderGINA
Insightful, unexpected and entertaining
Review by Lucy O'Connor 07th Mar 2013
The first thing I see? A sparkly blue low cut one-piece outfit. It takes me a moment to get over the spectacle and take in the mo-hawked woman wearing it proudly. Hilarity is sure to ensue.
Gina Garvey is a fantastic story teller. Focussed around the premise that all variations of flirting are awkward, we are taken on a journey from her 8 year old crush on Jesus to years later when a moth flies out of her underwear which coincidentally coincides with the day she asks her physio therapist on a date.
In between, we have the flirtation Olympics, where an Italian bus driver reigns and New Zealand unfortunately doesn’t even feature for obvious reasons, once we are enlightened.
She takes a few steps out of the classic stand-up comedy routine to perform an equality rap about male bras and depict her take on how a game show deciphering ‘male speak’ would pan out. The transitions from story to audio track are seamless and the powerpoint graphics offer a supporting visual to her past crushes and fantasies.
At times, her story telling does feel a little too rehearsed for a comedy gig as she does not play to, or with, her audience as much as she could. At no point however does it feel rushed and her diction and clarity should be the envy of any journalist. She has perfected several accents, facial expressions and personas which prove hilariously complimentary and captivatingly true to character.
Gina produces a show that is insightful, unexpected and above all, entertaining. I am amazed at how committed her one woman act is to the art of storytelling at a pace where the audience is along for the ride and not having to keep up at every turn. And if you’ve ever wondered who the other woman really is – this is your chance to find out.
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