The foxy ladies of Fountain Lakes are back – in a hilarious drag parody play honouring the iconic ‘Kath & Kim’ with love, care, and complete chaos.
Thomas Jaspers’ ‘Fountain Lakes In Lockdown: A Drag Parody Play’ has taken over St Kilda’s Alex Theatre for Melbourne Fringe, and it’s the perfect stage companion to a series which has stayed in the hearts of Australians since its beginnings 20 years ago.
Set in the throes of Melbourne’s seemingly never-ending COVID lockdown, the play uses humour (or is it ‘yumour’?) from the original show as well as fantastically-written brand-new jokes to tell the story of an incredibly dysfunctional family in the midst of a pandemic.
The show moves along smoothly, each scene feels necessary and there’s not a moment here which hasn’t been carefully crafted.
Read a list of five iconic 'Kath & Kim' moments from the 'Fountain Lakes In Lockdown' cast.
This is one of those shows you leave wondering why it’s not taking over bigger stages and venues. It deserves flowers for its appreciation of the source material, of course, but the original content is just as brilliant. Whether it’s Sharon putting on a gas mask to go for a walk with Kath, or Kim trying her hand at Tik Tok fame, the story just makes sense in the ‘K&K’ universe. The main plot is written so well that it could genuinely be an episode of the show, and each of the four performers has evidently done extensive homework on their respective roles.
Art Simone and Thomas Jaspers are perfection as Kath and Kim. Art’s Kath can barely be faulted, down to the chooky strut around the stage. . . And Kim is just totally awful, which means Thomas has done a fabulous job emulating her. Every ounce of that classic mother-daughter rivalry is captured and their back and forth is hysterical. The two also emerge as Prue and Trude, channelling the upper-class shop assistants with grey bobs and blue aprons in tow.
Leasa Mann nails Sharon Strzelecki – the mannerisms, the speech. . . It’s uncanny. Her storyline is also the catalyst for some audience interaction toward the end of the play which has the crowd roaring with laughter.
Scott Brennan plays Kel and Brett, each of them with their own discernible characteristics – Kel’s unwavering love for his wife and Brett’s wussiness played upon to brilliant comedic effect here.
This reviewer’s favourite moment is an ‘Under Attack’ from ‘Mamma Mia’-esque dream sequence starring Kath. . . Absolutely genius comedy, and a stellar example of a moment which takes something from the original show and adds a completely original spin to it.
‘Fountain Lakes In Lockdown: A Drag Parody Play’ should tour forever. It’s intelligent, well-written, exceptionally performed, side-splittingly funny, and a fitting homage to an iconic series.
