Two industry tycoons clash over an improbable combination of dairy and cheese to create a blasphemy of pastry at the New York Cake Festival, as told in Cheesecake the Musical. An Irish Cleopatra urges on the proletariat in the communist revolution in Ancient Egypt. These are the improbably likely sort of comedy gold you will shake your head in disbelief while laughing out loud too with The Big HOO-HAA!, Melbourne’s longest running improv troupe.
Comics-in-residence with weekly performances at The Butterfly Club, The Big HOO-HAA! draws from its deep pool of gifted ~40 performers to bring their fast, zany and sharp acts back to the comedy fest. It’s the kind of show that you can see again and again if only to see what else they can come up with this time.
The troupe has hit on a winning formula of combining improvision with a tight game-show like formula. Led by energetic directing of MC/Referee Dan Debuf, and musical backing by guitarist Caleb, two teams of comics (the Bones and the Hearts) compete over an hour in a series of improv challenges to win the night’s HOO-HAA! trophy.
There’s acting out scenes that incorporate characters and scenes shouted out by the audience (dinosaurs meet crime-thrillers), a full-blown 15 minute impromptu musical (try coming up with a rap-solo with zero notice), a hilarious dating/charades game and even competing to deliver the best original jokes to describe why “sex with me is like shampoo/Pez-dispensers/(random audience suggestion). Impossible not to have a good time with these guys and gals.
– Christian G.
Christian is an international man of mystery; lover of books, cats, and the performing arts; moonlighting as a finance professional by day.
The Big HOO-HAA! runs 30 March-21 April 2018 at the Melbourne Town Hall. Runtime: 55mins. Buy tickets now.
The venue is accessible.
