TITTY BAR HA HA – Perth Fringe World
It was a steamy night in Perth and the temperature rose inside the Speigeltent, not just on the thermometer but on the personal thermometers of the audience, thanks to the risqué nature of the show.
Introducing Gloria (Boo Dwyer) and Hope (Nai Bowen) who, through no fault of their own, are down to wire financially. Necessity being the mother of invention, they decide to run the wartime night club the Titty Bar Ha Ha. A place for gentlemen to retreat and enjoy the company of delightful ladies. The costumes are fetching: long gloves, corsets, short ballet skirts, stockings and suspenders. With 1943 hairstyles and high heels they looked a treat as they skittishly worked the room.
We, the audience, are their new best friends and they are eager to tell us all about themselves. Each describes the awful bounders the other has known. One is dead in the basement; ‘by accident!’.
A song about the club sets up the scene .Then the show just trips along and the slightly scatty girls keep up the patter, peppered with dirty jokes and double entendres.
There is plenty of audience interaction. Punters were well warned that there would be ‘war, smut sex and, crime’ in this show but it not deter an almost sold out audience .They were up for it from the outset.
There were huge applause for the people who were chosen to join in onstage competitions. The ‘audition’ by two girls and a guy performing a sexy burlesque glove removal routine was enormous fun. The guy won by a long applause factor! One punter, Dave, had a memorable night; he was seated onstage blind-folded, wearing a rather explicit balloon crown, as Gloria vamped about and on him singing her autobiographical song the hilarious “I’m A Little Bit Mad.” There were sharp original songs throughout the show. “Sex With An Ex” was another witty ditty.
They had only a British flag draped drinks table and a number of props which Hope cleverly withdrew from her person to the raucous appreciation of the crowd. There were realistic-sounding air raid sirens seemingly overhead and a couple of distant bombs were heard.
Because of the illegal nature of the club and its implied services they were concerned the police might call and indeed they did bang loudly on the door twice. Each time Gloria or Hope would leave to ‘deal with them’ and the other would entertain us solo.
Not only were Gloria and Hope entertaining with the chat, which grew steadily more raunchy as the show progressed, but they sang beautifully. A highlight was the clever inter-working of two songs, “Bang, Bang, I Shot Him Down” and “Tainted Love “. Technically superb.
The discovery that they had both been in a relationship with a kazoo player, who was probably one and the same John/Jonathon, lead to frantic kazoo duelling. The music choices ranged from Rawhide to Queen! They were very good kazoo players, scampering among the audience as they tootled.
As the finale there was a return to the theme song, big kisses for the aforementioned Dave, lots of wriggly dance moves and fluttery curtsies. A jolly good time was had by all!
24-27 January 2014 @ 9.00pm