The Big HOO-HAA! is a fast, boisterous improv collective. Two teams of three, called the Hearts and the Bones, compete to entertain us in a number of games. It is up to us, the audience, to steer the course of much of the craziness that comes next. (So, when you see the little card on your seat that has a heart on one side and bones on the other, don’t chuck it away.)
For the sake of my plus one, I took advantage of the rare opportunity to see The Big HOO-HAA! perform at a wheelchair-accessible venue this year. Normally they perform at The Butterfly Club, but have made a move to the Town Hall for the duration of MICF.
The Big HOO-HAA! has gathered a large pool of performers (including The Plus Ones’ own Corey M. Glamuzina), so you never know who you’ll see on the night. This adds to the randomness that is part of their trademark. They’ve found a formula of high-energy directed chaos and audience participation that works, so they keep honing it.
Apart from the stage performers, there’s also a keyboard player in the wings to accompany the singing games. He contributed to the atmosphere at other times too, deftly playing appropriate music and sound effects.
Some of the games involve the teams performing some ludicrous miming, such as an occupation and other attributes in a mock video dating scenario. How ludicrous? Again, it’s we, the audience, who determine that. (When asked to contribute ideas, shout out fast if you have a good one, because some of the numerous fans in the audience are very quick and very loud.) You have to feel sorry for one of our intrepid contestants on the night though, as she tried to make sense of her team mates’ actions as they mimed ‘chicken sexer’ to her.
If you like your comedy competitive, improvised, energetic and loud, try The Big HOO-HAA!
– Craig
In the course of ‘researching’ for this review, Craig Macbride learned entirely too much about the intricacies of chicken sexing.
The Big HOO-HAA! has two more shows on 10 April and 17 April, 7.15pm (55mins) at the Melbourne Town Hall.
The venue is accessible.
Read The Plus Ones’ guide to MICF 2017, and visit often to see all our reviews.
