Post by nyandra on May 1, 2008 15:21:21 GMT 10
By STM reporter Alicia Bridges
April 25, 2008 11:18am
A SUPERNATURAL love story told with absurd humour and dorky slapstick, Frank Woodley's Possessed is a charming comic tale performed with great skill.
Having gone solo from his long-time pairing with Colin Lane, the curly-haired half of Lano and Woodley is touring the nation with his own comedy piece; the quirky story of Louis and Phoebe.
The show opens with an introduction by the “Capitano”, a bearded sea captain with a voice which bears a resemblance to characters from BBC comedy The Mighty Boosh.
Inspiring more than a few giggles with his slightly naughty description of the show, the Capitano sets the mood for a love story which doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The audience is then introduced to Louis, a skittish bachelor whose two passions are making ships and collecting maritime memorabilia.
Louis is as clumsy as he is lonely, frequently injuring himself in spectacular fashion and the harder he hit the ground, the bigger the response from the crowd.
Enter Phoebe, the forlorn ghost who needs Louis’ help to escape limbo.
Woodley plays every character, flitting between male and female mannerisms as Louis and Phoebe have conversations.
Some of Woodley moves are truly acrobatic. More than once he falls noisily down a flight of stairs and at one point, when his body is possessed by Phoebe’s ghost, his head hits the floor with a loud, painful thud.
Feeding off the punchy soundtrack by Paul Mac, Woodley squirms around the stage making fun of his own silly body movements.
One highlight of the show was his delivery of a bitter love song in which the comedian swapped his usual high-pitched mousy voice for a surprisingly low, gravelly tone resembling that of throaty singer-songwriter Tom Waits.
While Woodley’s physical comedy was skilled and well-executed, the comedian seems to thrive when he is given the opportunity to rattle off absurdities on a tangent.
It would have been great to see more of Woodley in a stand-up situation but being a stage show, Possessed did not allow for too much improvisation.
Still, the show successfully draws the audience into the emotional highs and lows of its storyline and Woodley should be commended for having successfully played each character without the assistance of costume-changes or voice-overs.
Frank Woodley: Possessed
The Regal Theatre
April 24, 2008