ROSE [LIVE] is a late night talk show on the brink of cancellation, and the overworked, underpaid crew is barely keeping it together. Rose (Rose Kingdom-Barron) is the delulu but charismatic host whose manic energy somehow powers this trainwreck forward, even when the best guests she can get include a handsy ‘Tim Winton’, the fed-up ‘Magic’ Matt Penny, and remote video feeds from The Package and ‘Schapelle Corby’.
Her stage hands Elijah and Neil (Elijah Bartholomew and Neil Graham, AKA House of Bok) are the hot glue holding the entire ramshackle thing together, and they have to step in when guests don’t show up. Bartholomew delivers an absolutely SEARING comedy set which he reads from a giant yellow notepad; hey, we will forgive him for reading his set when the jokes are THIS GOOD (it’s part of the bit though). Graham does a wonderfully horrible job of sitting in as Tim Winton in that he’s nothing like Winton, so don’t worry, this state’s literary sacred cow stays mostly unharmed.
Matt Penny provides a somewhat gentler diversion with his down-and-out, ‘haphazard’ magic act. He hides a few tricks up his sleeve and ‘accidentally’ gives a few hints away – but don’t be fooled, he knows exactly what he’s doing and exactly how to get everybody gasping, oohing and ahhing. There’s nothing quite like the dazzle of sleight of hand done up close, and thank goodness Penny is around to remind us.
There are a couple of notable cameos that pop up when Rose receives ‘video calls’ during the show: ‘The Package’ and ‘Schapelle Corby’. Now, I was familiar with Schapelle Corby, but I didn’t know anything about her resin clocks, so thank you Mummy’s Plastic team for adding that bit of important national interest to my store of useless information. However, I had no idea who ‘The Package’ was, and was somewhat dumbfounded to learn from his Insta that he is, in fact, a competitive eater. Wow, thank you again, ROSE [LIVE] for spreading even more niche Australian content to the masses.
Kingdom-Barron’s ability to work a crowd into a howling frenzy that ends in standing ovations demonstrates, to me at least, that she has all the makings of a cult leader. She’s got the entourage (e.g. collaborators incl. co-devisors, dramaturg, designer, publicist etc.), the iconography, the adoring devotees, and the rituals (some kind of wave dance), so I think all that’s missing is the remote, gated compound. Or maybe I just don’t know about it yet.
In any case, Rose’s recruitment/outreach centre at The Pleasure Garden got its hooks in me for sure. I would happily make this my last stop on a Fringe bender again just to see what other unhinged surprises and special guests ROSE [LIVE] has in store. Be sure to check out @mummyspresents on Insta to follow all the announcements about who’s on, and whether tickets are still available for the 4 remaining (sure to sell out) shows.
CICELY BINFORD
ROSE [LIVE] runs every Friday and Saturday night at The Little Palais at The Pleasure Garden until 17 February. For tickets and more information click here.
