A Perfectly Normal Show cabaret review: Chaotic clowning
An Italian family reunion explodes into a riot of puns, lip-sync routines and frenetic physical comedy
By the mid-point of the Adelaide Fringe, you start to forget what ‘normal’ looks like. So it’s a real pleasure to join Nonne and Nonno in their perfectly normal garden, in their perfectly normal house, on a perfectly normal day in their perfectly normal (and completely heterosexual) relationship. They’re waiting for their family to arrive for a reunion, although apparently the audience are going to be the stand-ins. That’s fine, though, because we’re all perfectly normal too...
This show is a riot of clown, drag, glitter and really excellent shoe choices. Just like the middle aisle at Aldi, everything you could ever want is right in front of you, including plenty of heart and a final message worth cheering. What’s particularly delicious, though, are the tiny details: a bejazzled Nando’s bag, a flyaway comment on gender, a ridiculous number of puns and a running joke about perfectly normal juicy meatballs that ends in a wild dance routine. This is not one for people who like to sit quietly for a moment or two to absorb what just happened, but if a full-blast hour of physical, frenetic comedy and half a dozen lip-synced routines sounds like a perfectly normal night out then this is the one for you.
A Perfectly Normal Show concluded at the Lab at Fool’s Paradise on 9 March.