Naarm/Melbourne based musical comedy duo Mel & Sam (Mel O’Brien and Samantha Andrew) are making their Boorloo/Perth debut with HIGH PONY at FRINGE WORLD over at Lynott’s Lounge. Their explosive brand of chaotic and unhinged parody, satire, and original music is a sight to behold. HIGH PONY is absolutely chock full of catchy (and terribly inappropriate in many contexts) earworms that you’ll end up chanting to yourself on the way home from the show.
I fell instantly in love with Mel & Sam; the first thing that comes to mind when I think of them is ‘plucky upstarts’ but that doesn’t really do them justice, and it sounds way too innocent for them. Mel & Sam are wonderfully crass, bold, brash, and exceptionally cute in their matching flared lightning bolt patterned leggings. They’re trailblazers with a punk penchant for well-timed anarchy wrapped in indie theatre exuberance.
They careen their way through a 9 minute opening number about netball (NET F**KING BALL) that works like a giant blast of super-caffeinated air, slapping me in my middle-aged face. I’m at least two decades older than just about everyone in the room, but that age gap was obliterated by Mel & Sam’s instant command of the entire room and all our senses. They deliver punch after punch about everything from [Where’s] Wally’s existential loneliness, Eshays longing for a career change, and a satirical parody of Annie with lyrics that would make a republican stage a boycott.
By all accounts, Mel & Sam have gained a considerable reputation for their unique and outrageously funny brand of queer musical comedy, and it’s clear by seeing them in person that they’re totally confident in what they do and understand how to get their audiences on board, no matter what dark corners they’re led down. They mine their wildly imaginative brains for the weirdest stuff, make the most surprising and unlikely connections between ideas and put it all to music. They made a musical number about taking a shit in the IKEA display toilet for god’s sake.
I’ll admit there was a lot of material in their show that shot way over my head in a fiery blaze, not just because of the aforementioned age gap, but because they pack so much into their songs. They have a LOT to say that’s probably difficult to contain in an hour-long show, so it’s no wonder they have a podcast too.
I hope Mel & Sam will make FRINGE WORLD a regular stop on their trajectory to stardom – I get the feeling they’ve got really big things coming their way.
CICELY BINFORD
HIGH PONY runs at Lynott’s Lounge from 1 – 4 February. For tickets and more information click here.
