To some, a nine-minute opening song about the joys of netball (complete with a ridiculously catchy chorus chant of “net fucking ball”) would sound unhinged. To the Golden Gibbo-nominated pairing of Mel O’Brien and Samantha Andrews, it’s all fair game.
Following sold-out Melbourne International Comedy Festival showings of No Hat No Play! The Cabaret (2021) and Shit-Wrecked! (2022), the pair have unleashed High Pony, an hour-long deep dive into their “craniums” that is high on queer energy, hilarious skits and musical masterpieces – seriously, the way these two churn through banger after banger without missing a single high note (or even raising a sweat) needs to be seen to be believed.
There’s barely a second to recover from the aforementioned powerhouse opener (which also includes the iconic line “netball for all, pussy for all”) before it’s straight onto the next showstopper of a tune: an emotional, tug-at-the-heartstrings ballad about Where’s Wally. He just wants to “be seen”, you know? And despite the hysterical costumes (if Mel’s slightly askew glasses and too-small beanie don’t make you smirk at the very least, it's time to get your funny bone checked), by the end of the song, you’ll be ready to pour one out for the sad, stripy fella.
There’s a fun little ditty about lesbians not getting the ick (“that’s science!”, according to the pair), a song-and-dance number called ‘Babies Are Cancelled’ that samples the Rugrats theme and a musical homage to the much-maligned eshay. Among these moments of musical chaos, there are short snippets of sketch brilliance: the uncanny impression of two water slide attendants is spot on, and the pterodactyl skit is gloriously insane.
Even with a tech issue that resulted in the music cutting out about 45 minutes into the show, the pair soldiered on with a quick-fire spray of side-splitting (and completely improvised) quips that belie their short few years on the comedy scene. “It’s a beautiful day to do some crowd work,” declared Mel, and for an adoring audience who were relishing the extra minutes on stage, never was a truer word spoken.
There’s no rhyme or reason (and certainly no overarching theme) to High Pony, but therein lies its beauty: it’s simply 60 minutes of madness, midriffs and the most majestic melodies you’ll hear at the festival.
Catch Mel and Sam at the Capitol Theatre until April 12. You can book tickets via the MICF website.
