Woah, Alyssa! – Sydney Comedy Festival (NSW)

Directed by Mark Bonanno, starring Col & Fil

Reviewed by Justin Clarke

3.5 STARS

Stuffed into an intimate shipping container inside the Factory Theatre, comedians Col & Fil present the outrageously chaotic comedy duo Woah, Alyssa! - two gay best friends who are also a couple who are also still sl*ts, according to the show’s description. An hour of riotous, filthy, absurd, and sexy comedy was lustfully thrown our way as Col & Fil battled technological mishaps, tight spaces, and an embarrassing pair of audience members.

Directed by Aunty Donna’s Mark Bonanno, it’s clear the sketch comedians’ piece has been inspired by the chaos comedy that Bonanno’s group is famous for. Col & Fil sashay their way through nightclub rave styled transitions that intercut a series of sketches with seemingly very little to connect them, apart from the show’s queer-based themes.

From interrogations of the audience on who’s participated in a threesome, to a Princess Diana memorial, the show itself is a real mixed bag of laughs. Visual gags were flashed up on an aging TV screen centre stage, to aid some of the punchlines. Seeing Col wander around various places in the city in a bedsheet after awaking from a night of passionate love making was a hilariously beautiful entrance to the show.

Woah, Alyssa! itself is pure chaos – and most of the time, the show is all the better for it. Using a slideshow clicker that simply failed to connect to the screen at times, resulting in wrong cues and songs being played was hilariously worked into gags and punchlines by the two performers. The anxiety chilling highlight was having two audience members forget that a shipping container only has one exit as they tried to leave the show part way. Despite Col & Fil’s (and eventually the audience’s) insistence that the back of the container did not in fact have a door, the mid-show interruption felt like it could have been a plant, had it not been for the red-faced pair who eventually dropped their head in shame on the way out. Massive props go to Col & Fil for somehow keeping it together and working this into the sketch.

These queer comedians slay in their depravity and unconventional (and proud of it) approach to sketch comedy. The show’s outright manic nature may not appeal to everyone, but for those who want that absurdist touch to comedy sketches – where simple setups become mind boggling idiocy – Woah, Alyssa! is the laugh you need.

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Woah, Alyssa! played at the Factory Theatre from Saturday 21st - Sunday 22nd May as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival. Tickets for Sunday's performance can be booked here.

You can follow Woah, Alyssa on their Facebook or their Instagram (@woah.alyssa) account.