Back for its second year following a run of sell-out performances, Beaverhausen returns to Komedia, pulling in the crowds again. After reading last year’s reviews and all the hype about it on social media, expectations were high. And we were not disappointed – happily, it was even better than we’d imagined.
Created by Veronica von Beaverhausen and directed by the incredibly talented Selena Mersey, the first-night performance was utterly bonkers from start to finish. Beaverhausen gets fully stuck into the madness, combining creativity, ridiculous props and full-on drag absurdity to deliver something that feels unlike anything else at the Fringe.
Beaverhausen, the self-proclaimed “silly sausage”, takes the audience on a mission back to his hometown where lip sync is basically a religion and where the community is stuck in a never-ending Tragedy. The storyline is ridiculous (in a good way) and gives Beaverhausen the perfect excuse to unleash complete mayhem onto the stage, shifting between storytelling, parody and explosive stage presence with ease.
Imagine air guitar meets drag king meets dramatic hair flicks meets burlesque with a sprinkle of Cher and you’ll get a hint of the picture. At one point, inflatable instruments are handed out across the audience, turning the room into a joyfully silly band performance that somehow becomes even funnier the more committed everyone gets. Ridiculous as it sounds, it works brilliantly – fast-paced, silly and surprisingly slick throughout.
The energy never drops either – one moment we’re crying with laughter, the next the room is entirely under Beaverhausen’s spell. So much so that one (insisting) look from him leads to an audience member ending up on stage helping tidy props as though they’d been recruited into the show themselves. Honestly, how one person’s got this much charisma is baffling.
One of the funniest moments comes when Beaverhausen introduces his ‘magic gloves’, using them to ‘read’ audience members’ thoughts. The results are gloriously silly, jumping from dramatic inner singing to boring shopping lists. It’s the kind of show that leaves your face aching from all the laughter.
This show is for anyone after something loud, queer and wonderfully surreal. It’s 60 minutes that left us buzzing long after it ended – perfect before heading out for drinks or as a standalone dose of theatrical mayhem.
The standing ovation at the end tells you everything you need to know. Definitely one of our Fringe highlights of the year.
And thank god the fun’s not over yet: Beaverhausen returns on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th May with BSL interpretation available both evenings.
brightonfringe.org
By Pauline Sablayrolles
