By Tara Ramsay
I am not going lie, last night waiting for ‘The Stevenson Experience’ to start, I was tired, it had been a long and busy day at work, and I wasn’t sure I even had the energy for a comedy show. Enter Beej and Jimmy Stevenson, the moment they stepped onto the very tiny stage in the basement at The Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival, the energy in the room changed, my energy changed and suddenly I was in the mood for comedy!
The Stevenson Experience is just that, an experience, it’s a mix of stand-up and musical comedy, with Beej on the keyboards and Jimmy playing guitar, there are musical theatre-esque performances and also a bit of rapping with catchy songs such as ‘Steps to Sex’ and the ‘History Of The World’, including some amusing references to Lord Of The Rings. Songs were broken up with bit’s about who gives out awards for the best vanilla slice, review’s on Beej’s crime novel (which we were assured, humorously was real), mostly left by his nemesis ‘Mr.Twaterson’ and how toothpaste can decide your financial status.
It’s a high energy, fast paced show with plenty of audience involvement, during a few stages throughout the night we were gifted the job of splitting the brother’s belongings as they were moving into different places for the first time in their lives, they asked who should get their couch, or their fridge. I am pretty certain Jimmy came out the winner and may have even got the couch if he had not referred to a male in the audience as a ma’am, which was quickly corrected, in a moment of awkwardness the pair kept the flow going and in all fairness this man did have a some luscious locks, they even threw back to the slip up, asking the next ‘genderless person’ who should get the microwave.
It’s fair to say the chemistry and improvisation was on point, they have had substantial time from the womb to get to know each other’s ticks and hilariously spend a lot of the time bickering and trying to one-up each other whilst giving us an insight into what it would be like to be an identical twin and how it can sometimes work both for and against you.
By the end of the show my energy was up and my face was sore from smiling and laughing, as we were leaving, I even heard another patron say they ‘want to come back and see it again’. Beej and Jimmy also waited at the door, thanking us for coming which was a nice touch, and Beej’s much talked about crime novel was also on sale after the show, it’s real, and titled Greenlight.
If you want a good laugh or have ever wondered what it is like to be an identical twin, then wonder no more, The Stevenson Experience is on the Brisbane Powerhouse until Sunday the 3rd of March.
All opinions and thoughts expressed within reviews on Theatre Travels are those of the writer and not of the company at large.