Blonde Downstairs Kitty Down Under | Limelight Theatre | Jan 30,31 Feb 4,5,6 | ★ ★
On Thursday night we headed out to see something on the fringes of the Fringe, heading north to Wanneroo’s Limelight Theatre.
‘Blonde Downstairs Kitty Down Under’ is the second fringe outing for comedic character Kitty Klaxton and follows on from the 2015 show ‘A Disco Ate My Baby’.
The story is Kitty Klaxton (Andrew Simpson) had a minor disco hit in Germany in the early 1980’s and has been clamoring to regain that fame ever since. She’s helped in her quest by her new manager Ernest Hunt (Greg Hopson) and possibly hindered by her managers new assistant lola Bumps (Suzanne Clark).
Kitty Klaxton is a buxom and somewhat ditsy entertainer who looks like Famous Sharron’s lost aunt (they may have the same tailor). For some reason she reminded me of Dusty Springfield through the whole show, I think it might be the hair.
Kitty is desperate to be famous again and with the help of her manager Ernest she’s consults the internet to see what other celebrities are up to in a hope she’ll find a new angle that’ll allow her to stage a comeback. Throughout the show Kitty tries out several new roles as an entertainer including being a game show host and giving magic a go.
There are many admirable things about this show, Kitty is a great character with a clever back story that gives comedy potential. The show is filled with original songs, and Miss Klaxton can sing quite adequately.
There are some lovely moments too, Kitty’s ability to do a double take and stumble back eight paces is simply marvelous.
The acting quality though is dubious, and some of the characters lines land with a clunking thud. The pacing is quite slow and after a while the show is a little bit repetitive.
This is certainly one of the tamer shows at Fringe World and it would be a good one to take kids or grandparents along too, it’s a lot of innocent fun.
Get tickets to the show via Fringe World.
Graeme Watson
