Review by Tatum Stafford
When it comes to Australian pop culture, it doesn’t get more iconic than Kath and Kim, two foxy ladies who live in Fountain Lakes. The TV show (and films) feature some of the most hilarious characters ever to strut onto our screens - and so when ‘Fountain Lakes in Lockdown: A Drag Parody Play’ began its national tour last year, I’m sure I was not alone in praying for a Perth visit.
Now in its Perth premiere season at the Aurora Spiegeltent (which, at time of writing, is completely sold out and rumoured to be adding more performances), it’s clear that this show is a love letter to the iconic show and actors who brought it to life, and offers audiences a chance to dive into their world and imagine what it was like for those hunk of spunks during the COVID lockdowns.
The show, set in August 2021, follows all of the franchise’s beloved characters as they mask up, download TikTok, and conduct conspiracies about vaccinations in the depth of a Melbourne mandated lockdown.
Every performer in this show is at the top of their game, and having an absolute ball bringing audiences along on their kooky escapades and plotlines. Art Simone is glorious as “toey” Kath, gumnut jumper and all, with a particular highlight being a sequence in which she runs out of things to do in lockdown and breaks out into some of the most hilarious and spot-on physical comedy I’ve seen all festival.
Leasa Mann stars as Sharon Stryzlecki and offers a lovable portrayal of one of Aussie TV’s most unlucky-in-love characters. Leasa’s Irish dancing is on point and Sharon’s trademark moping hit all the right notes and had the audience in hysterics. Scott Brennan steps into the shoes of both Kel and Brett with ease and hilarity.
Thomas Jaspers absolutely stole the show for me with a pitch-perfect portrayal of Kim (hair flips and sultry pouts included), and incredible audience work as Prude (or potentially Trude…). In fact, one of the show’s strongest moments was in its finale, when Kath and Kim head out onstage for ‘Wine Time’, famously featured in the show’s closing credits, and hit joke after joke out of the park. Props to whomever on the team was tasked with ‘local research’, as the Perth crowd absolutely loved it.
Some points of the show suffered from slight pacing issues (understandable with multi role-playing and a lot of technical elements), and the runtime did teeter over the advertised 80 minutes. However, it didn’t seem as if any of the sold-out crowd cared, as they laughed, cheered, and threw a whole lot of love and appreciation at the cast as they gathered for their final bow.
This was a really silly, fun, and enjoyable night out. Knowledge of the show will be your friend here - so if you’re a K&K fan, or know someone who is a die-hard, snap up a ticket if you can. I pacifically recommend it.
