Velcro City theatre review

Present day, small-town NZ.  An elderly couple struggle with the soporific effects of living beside a field of lavender, a couple of high-schoolers pursue love that crosses the popularity divide, and the owners of a vegan cafe face the wrath of angry townsfolk for serving substandard coffee.  These characters and more are brought to us courtesy of Eli Matthewson, Hamish Parkinson, some colourful paper costumes and the titular Velcro.

The Velcro gimmick instantly establishes a cartoonish aesthetic and a fun tone, which is maintained by a steady trickle of laughter at the gags and descriptions of coffee.  The show gets off to a slow start, but as the threads of the story intertwine and the actors change characters more often, the costumes and props start to fly and the viewer begins to question whether Velcro will meet the demands made of it.  The actors work hard to honour the gimmick and the show works best when they're struggling - much like one of those theatresports games with ridiculous rules.

Matthewson and Parkinson are both adept at creating distinct characters, but few of these characters felt fresh or original.  These men are funny, but too many of their jokes failed to tickle me.  I enjoyed my time in  Velcro City, and would like to visit again when there are one or two bigger punchlines on show.

See this for a frivolous story that is strangely compelling and to support some young DIY comedians.