Con Coutis and Charlie Hill: Daydream - Review

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Wed 24 Mar 2021 - Wed 31 Mar 2021

It's encouraging to see emerging comedians pushing on, despite all the difficulties of 2020. I came close to attending and reviewing Con Coutis and Charlie HIll's previous show Dark Side of the Room in 2020, but COVID had other ideas. Happily, the pair have taken the opportunity of a 12 month hiatus to create a new show, Daydream, which is playing as part of MICF 2021.



The show starts with Con 'reading' an impossibly long list of topics that will NOT be addressed in their performance, referring to a tiny scrap of paper which could not possibly hold the list. It's a gentle start in the visual humour department, which quickly gives way to a different tempo as both Charlie and Con take to the stage.



Cut to Charlie and Con sitting at tables, Charlie attempting to write a play, while Con dices a carrot. They discuss the merits of writing a play versus writing meta comedy. And so it goes from there, the two comedians showing their versatility by playing no fewer than 14 characters along the way.

Daydream relies heavily on sketch comedy, using some clever transitions such as time travel and ethereal intervention from a dreamlike entity, to give texture and depth. There is a thread of Monty Pythonesque silliness throughout.



Con's facial expressions are priceless and immediately took me back to Magda Szubanski in Fast Forward, playing Lynne to Jane Turner's Carmel. For those of us who were around in the 1990s, remember the 'I said pet, I said love, I said pet' sketches, as Szubanski drags away on her cigarette?

Charlie and Con have a strong connection and work well together. Their style is energetic, one could almost say frenetic at times. It's a cleverly written script; I particularly liked the way we were taken in a full loop back to the opening scene and earlier concepts covered in the show.

Charlie and Con's enjoyment of being on stage radiates, and it's difficult not to get caught up in their joy and enthusiasm.

If you want to see Daydream you'll have to get in quickly as it finishes tonight. It's playing at The Motley Bauhaus, 102 Scotchmer Street, Fitzroy North at 6pm.

Tickets are $20 - $25. Click here to buy tickets online, or call (03) 9245 3788.

The running time is 50 minutes, and the show is recommended for an audience age 16 plus.

The images in this article were taken by the writer.

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!date 24/03/2021 -- 31/03/2021
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