Sexy Ghost Boy comedy review: Summoning the spirits
George Fenn's bizarre séance blends spooky atmosphere, cheeky audience participation and gleeful absurdity
As you venture into the attic, a séance awaits. It is equal parts spooky and arousing, a strange yet compelling combination: never have a group of strangers been thrust together in such a manner.
George Fenn is Sexy Ghost Boy, but they won’t just appear for any audience. On arriving, we’re handed instructions to help us summon the ghost. Upstairs, the venue perfectly accompanies the eerie mood, with seats set up in a circle with miscellaneous objects underneath. It’s a tentative start as the instructions state one brave audience member must commence the summoning.
Once Sexy Ghost Boy appears, what follows can only be described as positively bizarre: safe to say that a spray bottle, shaving cream, a banana, pegs, some vegemite, a pool noodle and a condom are all involved. Consensual audience participation, as in Fenn’s other works, is key, and their adaptability to the audience’s unpredictable nature is what makes this show so hilarious.
Occasionally, the audience’s hesitance impacts the pace, but Fenn’s expertise in the medium guides us back on track. If you are up for a night that encompasses the absurd, the spicy, and the supernatural, then Sexy Ghost Boy should be your pick.
Sexy Ghost Boy continues at Upstairs at Duke of York Hotel until March 22.