Stitched together from her previous shows, Mime Consultant (2019) and I’m Not a Mime (2021), Tricksy Collins: Mime Consultant is a glorious, comedic masterpiece.
The show does exactly what it says on the invisible box: Over a hilarious hour, the performance space below Bard’s Apothecary was turned into a joy factory, as we watched Tricksy – resplendent in appropriate mime garb (black pants, white gloves, horizontal striped shirt) – in her office taking calls in her capacity as a mime consultant.
What is there to consult about exactly? Plenty, as it turns out. One caller gets instruction on how to mime pulling a rope and the myriad of two uses such an action has. Another wants to learn how to mime getting trapped and freed from an invisible box – primarily because they’re currently trapped in a house fire. For “just” a consultant, Tricksy is kept busy. In-between the calls and queries are other brilliant sketches woven in.
Mime Consultant works as well as it does thanks to razor-sharp sound cueing driven by Tricksy herself, courtesy of a bespoke glove (designed and built by James Ward and Ned McVicar respectively) allowing her to remotely trigger the next piece of audio without her body ever breaking out of the scene, until she wants it to. A genius quality of Tricksy’s writing is how she establishes rules, only to undercut them later at the perfect, uproarious time.
Tricksy doesn’t have a large space to perform and move around, yet it’s more than enough to demonstrate her genuine talent and some exquisite physical comedy.
Indeed, the wit, absurdity, and stage violence reminds you of the best moments between Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson – except instead of two people on a stage with props, it’s one woman talking to herself on the spot with nothing in her hands, and it’s an absolute gem.
It’s not every day you commend an artist’s parents for excellence in procreation in bringing one of Melbourne’s best new comedic voices into the world, but when the work is as good as Mime Consultant, your hands are tied.
Smart without being pretentious, ludicrous without being nonsense, and ultimately just really ****ing funny – Mime Consultant is the perfect remedy for the winter blues.
Tricksy Collins: Mime Consultant
Bard’s Apothecary, 7/24 Crossley Steet, Melbourne
Performance: Monday 20 July 2026
Season continues to 25 July 2026
Bookings: www.events.humanitix.com
Image: Tricksy Collins: Mime Consultant – photo by Maddie Royce
Review: June Collins