Having had the pleasure of catching Mel O’Brien and Samantha Andrews’ High Pony at last year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival (a completely unhinged hour of queer energy and catchy musical bops), I returned once again to the Toff in Town, fully prepared for whatever insane magic this powerhouse pair has cooked up. And with The Platonic Human Centipede, it’s clear they didn’t come to play it safe.
The opening number quickly sets the tone for the evening, taking things from zero to 100 real quick. ‘Eat My Ass’ is a nod to the show title’s filmic inspiration and features the instantly quotable lyrics: “Eat my ass, not like yum but more like I love you”. Add a choreographed high-kick moment, and there’s not a person in the room who isn’t going feral for these two.
The show's overarching theme is unsung duos of the modern world – we’re talking Bart and Lisa Simpson, Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket, and Santa Claus and Mrs Claus. The latter feature in a hilarious couples therapy skit that unpacks their love languages. Spoiler alert: ol’ Saint Nick is a words of affirmation guy.
But it’s an especially cheeky duet starring Mel and Sam as Robert and Bindi Irwin singing to their dearly departed father up in heaven (RIP) that elicits a can’t-believe-they-went-there response from the shrieking faux-horrified audience. Oh, they went there alright, and we’re all the better off for hearing them belt out “Is it slay? Do they play The Crocodile Hunter on Blu-Ray?” in perfect unison.
Other musical moments touch on all the important topics plaguing twentysomethings across the country right now, including sharehouse life (“every sharehouse has a cat that hates a pat”), polyamory and just wanting to be a soft girl who cries into her Stanley Cup, drives a hatchback Mazda and wears bows. Amen to that.
But there’s a sweetness to this set that balances out the chaos, courtesy of Mel and Sam’s dads who provide completely inaccurate introductions to each new song or segment via voice recordings. An honourable mention must be made to Paul O’Brien (Mel’s father) for saying the show is about “a very friendly millipede”.
As they say at the start of ‘Anthem for the Soft Girl’, 2024 is undoubtedly a “year for the girlies”. And for those of us who worship at the glittering altar of Mel and Sam, we couldn’t agree more. These two remain a force to be reckoned with, and long may their whip-smart lyrics, spot-on comedic instincts and matching swishy parachute pants reign.
