Review: FUQ BOIZ: The Greatest Showboiz at Bats Theatre

Fuq Boiz: The Greatest Showboiz starring Fuq Boiz (Hamish Parkinson & Ryan
Richards) at BATS Theatre as part of the New Zealand International Comedy
Festival, packed a punch from the opening moment.
This fast-paced, punchy, surrealist sketch show barely lets you catch your breath
before the next joke lands. Featuring caricatures of themselves and a whole bunch
of unhinged personas the duo ricochet between absurdity, physical comedy, chaos
and razor-sharp timing.
A particular fave character and highlight of the night was ‘Digby’ though I may be
predisposed to enjoying anyone named Digby, as my own son shares the same
name, though hopefully not the same murderous tendencies.
The show is gloriously chaotic: physical theatre at its most energetic, with the
audience firmly in the palm of their hands throughout. Even when faced with some
persistent and deeply irritating front-row heckling, Parkinson and Richards never lost
control for a second. If anything, it only sharpened the mayhem.
By the end, the stage was carpeted with the debris of punchlines, props, chickens
and visual gags scattered like the aftermath of a comedy explosion. I could easily
watch this show again, partly because it was so relentlessly fast-paced that
sometimes the next joke arrived before I’d fully digested from the last one.
Go and see it preferably before the Fuq Boiz leave nothing standing but props and
emotional whiplash and certainly before they piss off to Auckland.
On 14-16 th May at The BATS Theatre.

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