With the rise of YouTube, anyone with a video camera and an internet connection can grasp for that 15 minutes of fame they feel they rightly deserve.
When they do find a formula, the concept which made them popular will begin to fade and they’ll make an attempt at transferring their schtick to the live arena, although unsuccessfully.
Breaking away from this sequence of events is the Melbourne-based sketch group Aunty Donna, who have shown they are just as hilarious on stage as they are in their videos. The trio’s new show (titled ‘New Show’), is a new hour of comedy, and not a re-tread of their classic video sketches.
The audience is introduced to new sketches about different kinds of laughter, staying up late to watch movies, and characters such as Mr Whoopee. Their humour lies in the absurd, with many of their sketches lacking punchlines (one such sketch featuring the line “I don’t know how to end this sketch”), but the boys in Aunty Donna don’t need them.
The group elicit belly-laughs and applause from the audience through their mixture of hyperactivity and just plain silliness, with sprinklings of pop culture references and mispronunciations – both highlighted hilariously in their opening Australian tourism ad sketch – that make audience members gasp for air.
The group’s comedy shares a similar anti-comedy DNA with such acts as Tim And Eric and The Mighty Boosh, but replace their awkwardness with maximum-energy overdrive.
The number of gags about bottoms and other excretions may make any explanation of this show appear juvenile, but Aunty Donna have an intelligence underlying everything. For example, a running gag about audience interaction shows you should be careful of who you pick on.
With tight co-ordination, hilarious personas and an impressive high-energy that is carried across the hour, Aunty Donna have effortlessly (despite the amount of sweat dripping from them by the end) proven their shenanigans can’t be contained by a three-minute video.
Aunty Donna is ready to explode from their current cult to re-energise the much missed Australian tradition of sketch comedy. Do not miss out!
Catch Aunty Donna’s ‘New Show’ running until Sunday 13 March at the Brisbane Comedy Festival.
