Laid is majestic anarchy. Whether audience or artist, Laid is compulsory viewing at this year’s comedy festival. Beyond superlatives, beyond the thesaurus, beyond any frame of reference that a show could be compared to, lies Laid. Performed by Natalie Palamides, the show tells the story of one hen’s dilemma when she lays an egg: should she raise it or eat it?
So much of Laid is wonderful. We may never have seen Judy Garland act modest with a wet cloth in The Wizard of Oz, but there’s a quaint gloss of innocence early on in how Natalie evokes something of Dorothy. Irreverent, clever, and not without a little risk, Natalie tells a fun and madcap story. But, then it keeps going and that’s when things get turbulent and hilarious. And dangerous.
In, A Clockwork Orange, when Alex listens to classical music he is ecstatic: “Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!” I felt the same way about Laid.
Natalie Palamides – Laid
Playhouse Rehearsal Room – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne
Performance: Wednesday 4 April 2018 – 9.40pm
Season continues to 15 April 2018
Information and Bookings: www.comedyfestival.com.au
Image: Natalie Palamides (supplied)
Review: David Collins