Concrete Playground

Flacco is an angry alien, a spitting, frothing creature that is only barely contained within the human form of author, performer and illustrator, Paul Livingston. In contrast, Marty Murphy is a polite, soft-spoken illustrator and film-maker who also happens to be occupied by over twenty-five crackpot characters purloined from the world around him.

Each is one half of Double Exposure, part of B Sharp's Comedy and Cabaret Season at Belvoir Downstairs this summer. Kicking off the evening is Happy and Clean, Murphy's surreal tale of becoming a B Grade film director, shooting turkey-inspired horror tales with the residents of his hometown. Murphy's style is pleasant and he slips from one character to the next like he's copped a few squirts of WD40. Moreso, he's well adept at miming the odd musical instrument, a skill that is played to surprising effect throughout his tale.

In the second half, Flacco takes command of the audience in his manic style, grabbing at individual audience members with his words and (occasional) gesture. While Murhpy's piece is a linear narrative, Flacco's Beyond the Pale is a jolting mash of segments that he picks up and drops with maniacal aplomb. Despite his performance abilities, however, Flacco's piece does not carry the same sparkle as Murphy's. Having spent many years watching Flacco performing on television, I was disappointed to see that Beyond the Pale bears many similarities to his work throughout the 90s.

Despite a few stale moments, Double Exposure is a quick and fun night out, and certainly a nice jolt of absurdity to cap off your day.

We have 5 double passes to give away for Double Exposure on January 14 at 8.15pm. Just email your details to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with "Double Exposure" in the subject line for your chance to win.