Review: DAISY DORIS MAY: BIG NIGHT OUT, Underbelly Boulevard Soho

To begin with a warning - if you’re not into audience participation, this might not be the show for you. Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out has the comedian bringing several of her iconic characters into the same show, with all of them going to the same club. The audience members are waiting in the queue to get in, interacting with each of May’s characters as they shatter the fourth wall into a million pieces.

The first character audiences are introduced to is Häns Off, who wades through the audience to get up to the stage, vaping and calling audience members “kooky bishes.” They make it known that they are a VIP who should be on the guest list for this particular club, butt things take a turn when the bouncer (played by an enthusiastic audience member) doesn’t let them in. This leads to Häns Off enlisting the help of fashion designers and models in the audience to show off just how fashionable they are, using bin bags and tape to create some outfits that look more like Häns Off’s own costume. 

Once Häns Off makes their way into the club, a video plays on a large screen towards the back of the stage, showing the character dancing in a nightclub, weaving their way through the crowd before pausing and commenting on a woman with an interesting haircut. It is then that May reappears on stage, this time as The Divine Karen Moonstone. The use of videos to combine the stories of the character’s between sketches is incredibly clever!

If you take the concept of a Karen and mix it with one of those women on TikTok who claim to sense chakras and use healing crystals to solve all of their problems, you get Karen Moonstone. This character has May wearing a classic Karen-style wig and “flowing” around the stage, waving her arms and dancing as her beaded necklaces fly through the air. She is determined to solve the problems of audience members, “downloading” their chakras and having them do manifestation exercises with her. By this point, May has gotten incredibly comfortable with the audience, literally climbing on top of people and breathing into their faces. 

Finally, once Karen has concluded that she has done all that she can for the audience, she goes shopping, which has another video play on the screen. In this, we see May playing a wider range of characters, including a goth girl, an old man, and finally, Steve Porters - a fan-favourite, based on the cheers from the audience hearing his voice before he even makes his appearance on stage.

For those unfamiliar with some of May’s previous shows as Steve Porters, like Flirt: The Ted xx Talk, Porters is a classic “lad’s lad,” but he is doing his best to not become toxic, instead using what he has learned over the years to teach others how to flirt. Just like Häns Off and Karen Moonstone, Steve is also heading to the club, meeting up with his friends for his Best Friend’s stag do. This is where most of the audience participation occurs, with all of Steve’s mates being unsuspecting audience members doing a range of activities including dancing and figuring out the definition of love. 

May is hilarious as each of the characters she portrays, but it is truly impressive to watch how they interact with the audience, ranging from encouraging everyone to stand up and dance to specifically referring to one audience member as “Daddy” and calling them out multiple times throughout the show. The comedian has an innate ability to pick the perfect people for each role, with some appearing to not want to be involved at first but quickly coming out of their shells thanks to May’s sheer enthusiasm. There may be a bit too much dependence on audience interaction, which does detract from having a more solid storyline, but the audience is having too much fun to think about that. 

Ultimately, Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out is a silly, sexy and surprisingly heartfelt hour of character comedy. It is incredibly fun to watch May show off her range of skills, from being able to switch characters with ease to being able to work their magic on the audience, encouraging even the most hesitant person to let loose on stage.  Each one of the characters is unique and able to hold their own, making for a unique and memorable night out. 

Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out ran from 16 - 18 October at Underbelly Bouelvard Soho.