Review by Tatum Stafford
As we were ushered into the venue by Taylor, a nervous ride assistant at Warner Bros’ Movie World (Hollywood on the Gold Coast, the legal tagline), it was clear we were in for a lot of fun and commitment to the bit.
Our host for the ride, self-confessed unhinged homosexual Andy Balloch, was dressed head to toe in silver glitter with a sensible shoulder cut-out. Beginning with a flashback to World War II-era Germany (Andy urges us “stay with me”), we hear about his family history, and learn we’ll be traversing through his experiences and stories of his life on this Warner Bros’ ride that will take an hour and require us to strap in and avoid interaction at all costs (a welcome invitation for quieter audience members, I’m sure).
As the stories unravelled, we were introduced to an array of characters from the inner depth of his mind, including a perpetually annoying gal named Savannah, a demon from hell fielding phone calls, and my favourite, a witch named Cassandra who is attending the opera but has been banned from casting spells. Each character is fully committed, and the transitions from Andy to character are seamlessly orchestrated with some very clever sound and lighting cues thanks to operator Dom.
The show pivots to some heavier source material towards its finale, which was exceptionally well handled by Andy. Andy shared startling statistics about the queer community and queer youth in Australia, that are so important to remind ourselves about. He also shared a few anecdotes about his experience as a gay man living in modern day Melbourne, and how antagonistic groups like Nazis are still rampant in society and affected queer people in 2024.
The show’s script and structure ensures this source material is impactful and important. Andy also chats directly to the audience about allyship, and how essential it is for queer people to feel meaningfully supported from all directions. His passion and connection to his community is palpable, and this show provides him the perfect avenue to spread important messages that could save lives and change minds.
This is a beautiful show with plenty of humour amongst some hard truths. It was such a pleasure to watch, and deserves big crowds - don’t miss your chance to catch it this Fringe season before Andy heads out on tour.
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