Weekend at Barnie's - MICF 2017

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Thu 13 Apr 2017 - Sun 23 Apr 2017

If you were a teenager in the eighties then you probably watched the comedic film 'Weekend at Bernie's' (1989). The story is about two workmates Larry and Richard, who discover someone is embezzling company's funds, and visit their boss 'Bernie' to tell him the news, but find him dead. Bernie Lomax is known for his lavish lifestyle and involvement with the mafia. Larry and Richard try to hide the fact that 'Bernie' is dead through a series of hilarious events, until they uncover the criminals behind the embezzlement.


In 'Weekend at Barnies' physical comedians Barnie Duncan and Dani Cabs present a spoof of the original film at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival at the Tuxedo Cat. Book your tickets here


However, if you haven't seen the original 'Weekend at Bernies' then this show could be a little mystifying. Even I found it a little confusing, as 1989 is a long time ago, however, the main thing I recall is that 'Bernie' was always dead. However, in 'Weekend at Barnies', 'Barnie' starts dead, and then has moments of 'life'. As much as I like the concept of this show, its premise is heavily reliant on knowledge of the film and the characters. But even still, I'm still not clear what the show is about, other than two comedians having a lot of fun on stage with the dead 'Barnie' engaging with the audience. The 'alive' Barnie is not so interesting – the dead Barnie is very entertaining in his lifeless and dead weight presence.


This show does have some key moments like Barnie answering a telephone buried in a pool of water, and the dead Barnie dancing with the audience which later turns into a standing ovation. Audience participation at that level is no mean feat and the talent of both Duncan and Cabs is evident, but the show needs a bit more polish to realise its magic.

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#comedy
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!date 13/04/2017 -- 23/04/2017
%wnmelbourne