Playing at the Improv Conspiracy until October 18. More information and tickets via melbournefringe.com.au/nosebleeds
There’s something supremely satisfying about the mix of comedy and horror when it’s done well. The tension and release you get from watching either genre is such a similar sensation, and that is something that Nosebleeds leans into with relish.
This is the brainchild of talented trio Holly Bohmer, Mario Hannah and Taylor Griffiths, who have teamed up for this hour-long skewering of horror tropes, delivering a show packed with lots of huge laughs, backed by some amazingly effective lighting and menacing music to help set the spooky mood.
With the lights dimming in the foyer to help set an unsettling mood even before the audience takes their seats, Nosebleeds grabs your attention from the get go, kicking off with a sinister séance that quickly descends into silliness and is a great indicator of the inspired nonsense that is to follow.
With a focus on vintage and gothic horror, you quickly get an idea of where the team’s horror interests lie, with a focus on venerable classics such as spooky mansions, haunted lakes, ghosts, werewolves and ritual sacrifices.
The two standout sketches for me were a hilarious Famous Five parody in which the gang investigate their most grisly mystery yet and a hilarious J-horror riff in which Bohmer gives an outstanding physical and verbal performance as a Ring-like demon out to nab herself a husband.
Directed by Matt Jenner, a brilliant improviser and comedian in his own right, who ensures tight pacing and that no sketch ever outstays its welcome as the trio nimbly moves through many scenarios and characters with ease, with Bohmer, Hannah and Griffiths all bringing something different to the show.
Bohmer excels at playing the naive, wide-eyed innocent, Hannah is superb as a stuffy, posh, slightly dim Brit and Griffiths is great at playing both a demented oddball as well as the ominous harbinger of doom.
The show’s lantern and candle budget must have been massive with many scenes illuminated only by their faint flickering lights, helping to set a spooky mood, but it never lasts long before any tension there might have been is quickly dissipated by the comedy.
Speaking of props, nothing beats a funny animal prop and Nosebleeds has not one but three hilarious animal puppets at its disposal.
Bohmer, Hannah and Griffiths all work wonderfully together and it’s no surprise to learn that they have been friends and worked together on stage for more than a decade now, with their effortless chemistry really sparkling on stage throughout, and each of them given the chance to shine in their respective roles.
With the horror genre such a wide canvas to play with and literally dozens of horror subgenres left unexplored, I’d love to see what a Nosebleeds sequel show could tap into if the team turned their sights onto more modern horror. Here’s hoping this is not the last we’ve seen of this tremendous troupe in this guise.
Nosebleeds won’t give anyone nightmares, but you might be kept up at night chuckling again at some of the show’s more memorable gags, and truthfully, the scariest thing about this show is how talented Bohmer, Hannah and Griffiths are.
It’s bloody brilliant!
4/5 STARS
Pictured: Mario Hannah, Taylor Griffiths and Holly Bohmer.
Photo credit: Simon McCulloch & Mario Hannah
