Playing at the Motley Bauhaus, Carlton until April 19th. Tickets and more information available at comedyfestival.com.au/steph-crothers
Quite possibly the wildest show I’ve ever seen in my many years of attending the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Daddy Daycare is the brilliant brainchild of comedian, actor and improviser Steph Crothers, who gives us a memorably raunchy, fiercely feminist debut show.
Daddy Daycare is right in my wheelhouse, exploring dark and disturbing subject matter through the prism of a bright and innocent setting, in this case, the form of a day care centre for adult men, so that they can receive their “Working with Women” certification as well as learn how to be respectful, kind adults.
Crothers is our host/instructor, Mommy, with the performer drawing on her real-life experiences having previously worked as both a stripper and a children’s entertainer, and perfectly adopts the tone and mannerisms of a children’s TV show host, who delights in having the audience respond with “Yes Mommy” to her throughout the show.
Crothers is our guide through this truly demented Play School episode, with the bright and colourful set instantly evoking a gaudy kids TV show, albeit with some suggestive imagery you would never see on Hi-5, and Crothers has the audience in the palm of her hand, in a progression of increasingly saucy skits which gets the audience involved (and then some!).
This might be the most audience involvement I’ve ever seen asked of a Comedy Festival audience, with lots to do for some brave audience members who aren’t afraid to join Mommy’s antics up on stage.
The skits involving the audience members are both awkward and absolutely hilarious, but there’s a sweetness to Crothers’s Mommy alter-ego, and even at its most insane, this show has an odd warmth and innocence to it.
While this was a preview performance, Crothers informed us at the conclusion that this was the first time she had done this show with an audience, but the confidence and command of the stage she already has makes me believe this show is only going to get better as the run continues.
The show also memorably incorporates the use of a decidedly R-rated puppet that looks like something rejected from Avenue Q for being too racy, and this adults-only ventriloquist act provided some of the night’s biggest laughs.
The show’s musical score, provided by Isaac Haigh on the keyboard, who is a hilarious and talented performer in his own right, is pitch perfect in emulating the cheery musical cues of a kid’s program. The show’s technical aspects are first rate, including the liberal use of sound effects, the pin-point accurate timing of which floored the audiences throughout.
The lighting as well was used to good effect, with particular mention of some quite unsettling interludes, in which Crothers launched into what seem to be unsettling, repressed memories of what seem like disturbing real-life encounters she had while working at her previous jobs.
While the show is light and fun most of the time, moments like this never let us forget the dark undercurrent that runs through Daddy Daycare. Ironically, I actually think presenting the topics of sexual abuse and misogyny in a bright and colourful way is paradoxically more disturbing.
While this kind of show won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, Crothers has crafted a show that presents some incredibly difficult topics in a supremely clever and unique way.
An empowering assault on the senses that is not for the faint of heart, Daddy Daycare is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and Crothers’s commanding stage presence marks her as a breakout talent and truly someone who is an instant must-see from now on whatever she does at the festival and beyond in future years.
4.5/5 Stars
Image Supplied/Nick Robertson
TINSEL and TAP SHOES 