Alia Marshall
The chaos fuelled fever dream that is EPIC WAY! I'm Gay? Oui oui faguette™ I LOVE KIM HILL (1999 version) has returned to BATS for the International Comedy Festival after two sellout seasons and several award nominations from the Fringe Festival. Liv Ward and their trusty sidekick, the Lobster, are once again taking us on a journey we shall never forget, led by the effervescent Kim Hill (radio NZ host and certified Lesbiana).
As we enter The Studio, we are handed packets of Ural (it’s a UTI medication that you pour into water, in case you haven’t suffered in the UTI trenches), and the ushers shh us so we don’t wake the Lobster (Ward) as they snooze in bed onstage. I sit with a friend who saw this show back in the Fringe Festival who promises me that I have no idea what to expect, and throughout the show I catch them glancing at me during the more chaotic moments to gauge my reaction. There is also a large screen with a slideshow of all the characters in the show as we take our seats - some notable characters include: Rupaul, Nicola Willis, Liv’s Mum, and Amanda Luxon.
The show opens with a clowning routine of The Lobster making coffee to some music, a routine I can only describe as “balls to the wall”. The Lobster, who takes us through the first Act of the show, is an agent of chaos who reminds me of my bogan family back in Tauranga. Within the first five minutes, the stage is covered in liquid (so is Ward) but they clean it up with ease - you can tell they’ve done this a few times. An extremely cursed animation of Kim Hill informs us that Liv Ward has gone missing, and the Lobster is the only one who can find them.
What follows truly is a fever dream in the best possible way. Ward delivers a mixture of clowning/physical comedy, powerpoint presentation, stand up, and spoken word storytelling about their experience of figuring out they are queer and trans. They commit to every single moment in the show, and I find myself charmed even when they tell us to shut up. They carry themselves with an air of confidence and mana that I admire, and it really sells the show. Writing something committed to having as little structure and cohesion as possible is tough, but Ward’s energy and earnesty makes it work.
In the second Act, Ward (as themselves) delivers a few hard hitting speeches to the audience about the state of the world right now. They point out how Aotearoa’s treatment of queer and trans people fits within the wider neoliberal system that punishes difference, and they highlight the fact that it is imperative that we think about all of our queer and trans whānau right now, especially those in Gaza facing constant bombardment and those in the US fighting for the right to exist. It is refreshing to see artists talk about the real issues right now. Comedy is about escapism and having a laugh at things, sure, but it is also a deeply political medium that can be used to speak truth to power, and I appreciate the fact that Ward is doing what they can with the platform they have. These speeches are fittingly curtailed by a fart sound, which Ward admits is bcause they couldn’t think of another way to transition between heartfelt monologuing and comedy, which actually works really well.
As we file out of the theatre, Ward is waiting outside to greet all of us and thank us for coming to the show. In what feels like a slapstick moment from a sitcom about queer people, I quickly shove a tupperware container their way, which was from when they used my show’s slot at BATS for their second season after we had to cancel and they baked us some bread as a thank you. The container still has a note taped to it that Ward wrote - my flatmates and I thought it was too sweet to remove - and I think that stands as a testament to Ward’s absolutely genuine authenticity, they really are a gem. I had to run away quickly (partially due to being overstimulated and partially because I had to go home and write this review), but I want them to know that I have a pin on my bag that says “Mike Hosking is a Cunt” and I wish I stuck around to give it to them.
I adored the level of chaos this show delivered, however I do feel like it could have done with a few more moments of stillness in the first Act to make the chaos really pay off. Now, I will say, I know that the chaos is the point and as someone who gets overstimulated easily I’m maybe not the target audience, but I did find myself wishing that we had a few more moments to breathe in the first Act. In the second Act when Ward speaks to us about their experience and grieves at the state of the world I find myself really connecting with them, and their seriousness in these moments gives weight to the political satire in earlier parts of the show. But all that aside, I had a great time and would absolutely recommend this show to anyone and everyone (bring ear plugs if you’re a sound-sensitive baddie like me).
EPIC WAY! I'm Gay? Oui oui faguette™ I LOVE KIM HILL (1999 version) is on in the Studio at BATS until Saturday 24th May.
The show opens with a clowning routine of The Lobster making coffee to some music, a routine I can only describe as “balls to the wall”. The Lobster, who takes us through the first Act of the show, is an agent of chaos who reminds me of my bogan family back in Tauranga. Within the first five minutes, the stage is covered in liquid (so is Ward) but they clean it up with ease - you can tell they’ve done this a few times. An extremely cursed animation of Kim Hill informs us that Liv Ward has gone missing, and the Lobster is the only one who can find them.
What follows truly is a fever dream in the best possible way. Ward delivers a mixture of clowning/physical comedy, powerpoint presentation, stand up, and spoken word storytelling about their experience of figuring out they are queer and trans. They commit to every single moment in the show, and I find myself charmed even when they tell us to shut up. They carry themselves with an air of confidence and mana that I admire, and it really sells the show. Writing something committed to having as little structure and cohesion as possible is tough, but Ward’s energy and earnesty makes it work.
In the second Act, Ward (as themselves) delivers a few hard hitting speeches to the audience about the state of the world right now. They point out how Aotearoa’s treatment of queer and trans people fits within the wider neoliberal system that punishes difference, and they highlight the fact that it is imperative that we think about all of our queer and trans whānau right now, especially those in Gaza facing constant bombardment and those in the US fighting for the right to exist. It is refreshing to see artists talk about the real issues right now. Comedy is about escapism and having a laugh at things, sure, but it is also a deeply political medium that can be used to speak truth to power, and I appreciate the fact that Ward is doing what they can with the platform they have. These speeches are fittingly curtailed by a fart sound, which Ward admits is bcause they couldn’t think of another way to transition between heartfelt monologuing and comedy, which actually works really well.
As we file out of the theatre, Ward is waiting outside to greet all of us and thank us for coming to the show. In what feels like a slapstick moment from a sitcom about queer people, I quickly shove a tupperware container their way, which was from when they used my show’s slot at BATS for their second season after we had to cancel and they baked us some bread as a thank you. The container still has a note taped to it that Ward wrote - my flatmates and I thought it was too sweet to remove - and I think that stands as a testament to Ward’s absolutely genuine authenticity, they really are a gem. I had to run away quickly (partially due to being overstimulated and partially because I had to go home and write this review), but I want them to know that I have a pin on my bag that says “Mike Hosking is a Cunt” and I wish I stuck around to give it to them.
I adored the level of chaos this show delivered, however I do feel like it could have done with a few more moments of stillness in the first Act to make the chaos really pay off. Now, I will say, I know that the chaos is the point and as someone who gets overstimulated easily I’m maybe not the target audience, but I did find myself wishing that we had a few more moments to breathe in the first Act. In the second Act when Ward speaks to us about their experience and grieves at the state of the world I find myself really connecting with them, and their seriousness in these moments gives weight to the political satire in earlier parts of the show. But all that aside, I had a great time and would absolutely recommend this show to anyone and everyone (bring ear plugs if you’re a sound-sensitive baddie like me).
EPIC WAY! I'm Gay? Oui oui faguette™ I LOVE KIM HILL (1999 version) is on in the Studio at BATS until Saturday 24th May.