Fringe World 2016 burst into life Friday night and with 700
shows on offer everyone is looking for that diamond in the rough. Well, look no
further. Powered by 2015 WAAPA graduate Megan Kozak and ably supported by
current third years Jason Arrow and Rory O’Keeffe this hour long show sparkles
in the intimate Casa Mondo situated in The Pleasure Garden (Russell Square).
The storyline is simple – Mary (Kozak) has been a backing
vocalist for ten years and quite frankly she believes greater things beckon. An
unfortunate ‘mishap’ to her fellow Diamonds allows Mary to take centre stage
with the help of Jason (Arrow) on keyboards. She launches into various Motown
classics before Chris the security guard (O’Keeffe) intervenes having
discovered the lengths to which Mary will go to seize her big moment. Not to be
deterred – after all the audience has paid for tickets – she co-opts Chris by
appealing to his inner rock star. What follows is a clutch of Aussie classics
before the curtain comes down on Mary’s brief reign as budding superstar.
There is no doubt that Kozak is a powerhouse vocalist. Early
on I was a little worried about the sound of the air-conditioning unit in the
relatively small space. But when she cuts loose on songs like Aretha Franklin’s
immortal Respect or gets her Whitney
on such fears quickly melt away. The first half of the show is a roster of
classic songs including Son of a Preacher
Man, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and I Heard It Through The Grapevine before
an hysterical change of pace to the much lambasted I’ve Never Been To Me which Kozak delivers with such over the top
earnestness that the audience was in stitches.
It’s here that Kozak really impresses above and beyond her
vocal ability – the stagecraft on display is exceptional. Looking stunning in a
blue sequin dress she assumes the persona of Mary, American accent and all,
with impeccable comic timing and exaggerated facial and physical movement. The
audience is hooked early as Mary tells her backstory and interacts with
individuals directly. (Well done to Peter for supplying ‘backing vocals’ to Respect!) The fine line between delusion
and unquenched ambition is crossed with abandon to amusing effect.
O’Keeffe, stepping in for the original Chris (Chris Wilcox),
is a handsome comic foil playing the straight man that Kozak riffs off. Her
attempted seduction of Chris to stop (watch for the running gag) turning Mary
in to the police is another highlight. He has his own musical moments as Motown
gives way to Johnny Farnham and other true blue working class anthems. Their
duet of Endless Love, however, was
lovingly mocked with exuberance.
Jason Arrow provided the main musical accompaniment on
keyboards while supplying increasingly exasperated asides to Mary’s antics.
O’Keeffe featured on guitar while Kozak was relegated to kazoo… due to
budgetary constraints!
This is funny, well performed, and exceptionally sung. My
only quibble would be that the ‘Chris threatening to dob in Mary’ card is played
a few too many times but it’s a minor complaint in an otherwise entertaining
and thoroughly engaging show that is perfect for Fringe.
Backseat Diamond is on at the Caso Mondo, The Pleasure Gardens, 8pm every night until 27 January.
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