Review by Tatum Stafford
Bursting onto the stage with more energy than any other performer I’ve seen at the Fringe this year, Michelle Brasier is a phenomenal comedian and vocalist, and has a cracker of a story to share with audiences this year in her new show, ‘Reform’.
She sets the scene – it’s Melbourne 2020, mid-lockdown, and her trousers are a bit tight. She decides to try and scoop up a second-hand Pilates reformer machine on Facebook Marketplace, and finds one that Jacob from Adelaide is selling. Only, when she transfers him the $500 for the machine, it never arrives, and it will take her months to get even part of her money back from him…
This show is hilarious, and full of twists and turns that the audience won’t expect, and absolutely delight in when Michelle opens up to us about them.
Her partner Tim Lancaster plays guitar and also acts as ‘Jacob’, and Jordan White is on the keys and drums, and they walk us through this almost unbelievable story with vibrant musical interludes and plenty of relatable jokes, especially for the women in the rooms – a number about the phrase “no worries if not” was a personal highlight.
I also loved the show’s opening moments, which were about the difference between chimpanzees and bonobos, particularly about how they treat each other if one has made an error and needs to be punished. It contributed to Michelle’s overarching ethos about forgiveness, and giving people a chance, and paid off in spades at the end of the show.
The hour never dragged, the music was fantastic, and Michelle is a captivating storyteller. It was clear the entire audience was having a great time, and even if they would have approached the situation a little differently, she had everyone on side and delivered a really beautiful message about seeing the best in people at the end of the show. Knowing a bit about Michelle’s personal life through her previous shows (stream Average Bear on Paramount Plus), I really enjoyed how she weaved some of her personal mantras into this otherwise chaotic and shocking story about being scammed online.
Michelle is an Ed Fringe regular, and I’d highly recommend grabbing a ticket to see this latest show – it’s heaps of fun, and you’ll definitely have a laugh along the way as she lets us in on a crazy true-ish story.
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