Aunty Donna, Enmore Theatre, April 19
★★★★
Comprising elastic-limbed Mark Bonanno, hyper-expressive Broden Kelly and the extravagantly coiffured Zachary Ruane, sketch trio Aunty Donna have evolved from cultish YouTube creators to theatre-packing comedy juggernauts.
Their easy chemistry and unflagging energy mean this show zips along even at a two-hour running length. From the moment the trio bound on stage to the opening strains of Morning Brown, their madcap vivacity is infectious.
Aunty Donna members (L-R): Zachary Ruane, Mark Samual Bonanno and Broden Kelly.Credit:Simon Schluter
It’s a number familiar from their zany Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun Netflix series, but with even more crude gags and hilariously out-of-date local references like the Monorail and Sega World.
One surreal sketch follows another, making for a head-spinning cavalcade of inspired comic ideas. The absurdity takes in everything from a pair of duelling futuristic sex robots to a crowd-operated human claw machine.
There’s also some of the best silly walking since prime Monty Python and some meta-commentary about how they don’t do fan service (followed inevitably by said fan service).
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A sketch built around a game of noughts and crosses between two inept players is one for the ages, extending its simple concept to an audacious length and continually finding unexpected laughs.
A rare detour from their usual hyperactive juvenilia arrives when Bonanno and Ruane recall a humiliating audition from their pre-fame days. It’s the closest the group gets to straightforward and sincere, but they’re soon back into their shenanigans.
A couple of sequences, like a Shark Tank segment, feel a bit throwaway, though even the weaker sections inevitably have some moments of inspired lunacy.
World-class lunacy of Aunty Donna is worth the wait
Source: Philippines Alive
