No one goes to a comedy show expecting to shit themselves, but in Go To Hell!, the team from Watson intend to make us do just that. Adam McKenzie, Liam Ryan and Tegan Higginbotham are hosting a seminar on how to kill your fears and live a happy and peaceful life through an ingenious two-step program.
The first step is to make everyone shit themselves from being scared, and so begins a fear buffet from short and terrifying sketches, one involving McKenzie and Ryan is particularly horrific (you'll know it when you see it), and speaking directly to the audience as they share seemingly personal stories and encounters they've had. The extent as to how factual these supernatural anecdotes are is questionable, however if you choose to allow yourself to be swept away by the show, they are incredibly eerie and spooky, especially Higginbotham's recollection of an incident that happened during a Watson show at the Old Melbourne Gaol a few years ago.
In the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Watson asked us Who's Afraid of The Dark? This festival, well frankly they don't really care, as they premiere their brand new show Go To Hell! While this is another blend of horror and comedy, what sets this show apart and creates further interest is that Watson will be delving deep into fear itself and have audiences facing their own nightmares in an evening of scary storytelling and laughs. The trio that make up Watson, Adam McKenzie, Tegan Higginbotham and Liam Ryan, are also the recipients of the prestigious Moosehead Award this year, which provides grants for Australian comedians wishing to perform new and unique works, and by its description, Go To Hell! will definitely be leaving its mark on audiences.
"There are two things you can expect, when you come to see Go To Hell!" McKenzie tells me. "The
first one is comedy and the second one is that you will literally shit
yourself with horror. We wanted the show to be funny and terrifying. This time round we are at the Malthouse Theatre and
there's going to be a good balance of lots of scares and lots of laughs."
I have been a huge fan of Susan Hills' novella The Woman In Black since I saw its adaptation for the West End for the first time in 2008. The production is the second longest running in London, currently in its 27th. This atmospheric ghost story is cleverly told and the build up of the horror and the suspense is palpable from beginning to end, which terrorises the audience.
Earlier this year, independent theatre company, RedFox 3 staged this production in Healesville and Warburton, and next month will be giving Melbourne the opportunity to experience the horrors of The Woman In Black for themselves, during a limited season at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda.
I will admit there was some trepidation as I sat down to see Redfox
3 Theatre Company's production of Susan Hill's much loved ghost story The Woman In Black. It was not due to the anticipated horror of the novella-turned-play, but the hopes that the newly established company would be able to tell the tale just as masterfully as it has been told in the West End for over three decades.
I remember seeing Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of the play for the first time in 2008, and feeling something I have never felt in theatre before; terror and fear. A genuine emotion of unease rippled throughout the audience and the walk home that evening was not a joyous experience. This experience repeated itself upon my second, third and fourth viewing of the play, and it's fair to say that The Woman In Black is my favourite theatrical performance of all-time.
The circus has come to town, but in the case of Sideshow, this is not a family-friendly - or even a human-friendly - circus. There are powers of darkness, death, murder and spirits from the other world that are part of this troupe and in this immersive performance, it is down to the audience to stop this travelling carnival of horrors from causing doom.
Sideshow is certainly fun but there are a number of reasons it unfortunately does not work. Firstly, the experience just isn't as scary as it proclaims to be and this is bound to be a huge disappointment for its audiences. Apart from our creepy clown friend, there aren't any frights or tension, unless the constant repeat of people jumping out of the "darkness" and growling at you are where your fears stem from.
No one goes to a comedy show expecting to shit themselves, but in Go To Hell!, the team from Watson intend to make us do just that. Adam McKenzie, Liam Ryan and Tegan Higginbotham are hosting a seminar on how to kill your fears and live a happy and peaceful life through an ingenious two-step program.
