2012 Melbourne Fringe:
• The Wizard Sandwiches

Posted on 28 September 2012

During Melbourne Comedy Festival I complained that not much in the way of local sketch comedy was raising its head. I should complain about more things, because now several Melbourne Fringe shows are sketch based. Okay, how about shows with sparkly unicorns next?

The Wizard Sandwiches is as fun and whimsical as the title suggests. A troupe of five young men draw us into a world of fast-paced absurdity. We go from a war room where generals are having to cope with no war to a vaguely Sesame Street like sitcom performed by “floop-de-doodle” speaking space aliens.

Though a number of the sketches deal with exaggerations of the everyday, I especially enjoyed the fanciful nature of other sketches. This made their comic worlds not only unique, but tickled the imagination. Maybe the fantasy elements are just a sign that these guys are inspired by the geekier side of life. Nevertheless, the creativity with which they approached their material spoke of fertile minds able to play with concepts.

I was also pleased by the diversity of talent provided by each performer. I have seen too many young comedy groups where the members are homogenous: they look the same and have the same emotional tonality. Each member of The Wizard Sandwiches is distinct, making possible a larger scope to their vignettes. We have the smiling formality of Jerryd Clifford, the cheeky blokiness of Stuart Daulman, the curly haired amiability of Andrew Belsten, the leading man good looks of Dylan Cole, and the stocky mutton-chop wearing Jake Ludowyke, who would make a great Bilbo Baggins.

These guys don’t have far to go before they are rivaling The Pajama Men. I already like them better than Idiots of Ants who are a smooth package…probably because Wizards has a greater sense of play. The Wizard Sandwiches provides an evening of vibrant, innovative fun.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

The Wizard Sandwiches Melbourne Fringe Website


Responses are closed for this post.

Recent Posts

Tag Cloud

constitution environment human rights united nations

Meta

Katherine Phelps is proudly powered by WordPress and the SubtleFlux theme.

Copyright © Katherine Phelps