4.5 out of 5 stars.
“The reviews are in, she made herself laugh and no one else” was a witty and self depreciating lie by Dolly Diamond at the opening night of her show at The Melbourne Town Hall’s Old Met Shop, where a crowd packed the house without air conditioning well after some of our bedtimes.
Another explosive, loud and larger than life performance by Dolly Diamond, aka Michael Dalton, has hit the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, featuring a different but talented guest each night- we were treated to a song and chat from Ally Fowler of Chantoozies and television fame.
Between these two talented performers, and Marc Jones on piano, the stage has never shone brighter, louder or lewder. Dolly with her quick wit and charm riffing off long time piano player Jones and their little spats and duets are highly entertaining, as is the number from Fowler and Dolly which brought the house down.
It pays to be the one who brought their friend wearing the bright blue lipstick, who made Dolly laugh so hard she cried with a naughty joke about a Smurf- we’ll leave you all to work that one out, but expect this crass, belly aching humour from the show. A hell of a ride this show is indeed, the show deserves it’s 18+ rating for the swearing and humour of a drag show. Audiences are in for “mature content” around the tuck, cross dressing and LGBTIQ relations, as well as many jokes of a sexual nature- and if we didn’t get these from Dolly, I think the crowds will be disappointed!
I feel I must say that Dolly deserves a better venue- while the Town Hall location brings prestige, the room is funny shaped, crammed with chairs and the stage small, with the cast entering the stage via a little booth made out of curtains, and chairs pressed hard up on the stage. While I’m not complaining that I got to sit up front and centre like “The Witches of Eastwick” with my friend and an older lady, who laughed harder than anyone else, Dolly is a little theatrical and could use a bit more space to move around the venue.
Originally from the UK, this is a performer we are glad to call our own, with a big brassy voice and immense talent. Head to Dolly Diamond’s show for a belly laugh to end your evening of comedy festival fun, running Thursday to Saturday during the festival, and head to Dolly Diamond’s Facebook page to check out her range of talented guests joining her across the season.
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/alive-intimate-up-late-dolly-diamond
This article first appeared at http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/dolly-diamond-up-late-and-intimate/ on 26th March 2016.