If you are into classic, no filter stand up comedy, do yourself a favour and get down to the Greek Centre to see Jess Perkins and Naomi Higgins in their show Twins as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
The show is something of a comedy boxing match; a two part show in which the girls take turns on stage, both with very different sets matching their very different styles. Jess Perkins is first up and comes out swinging. One thing you should know about Jess is that she is an excellent conversationalist, which is exactly what her set is. It’s a conversation. Albeit a very funny one. Without giving too much away, Jess attacks gender stereotypes, issues of feminism, sibling rivalry and workplace antics in a short, but very sweet 20 minutes. Jess will have you in stitches, and possibly wanting a hug.
While Jess leaves you on a comedy high, Naomi comes out and brings you down right away with a story of her dead alcoholic mother. Its shockingly amusing, and if someone can make you laugh about alcoholism, you know that they have got talent. Naomi has a dark sense of humour, which is surprisingly complimentary to Jess’s lighthearted style. Naomi moves from her alcoholic mother to her dropkick forty something brothers before rolling into cyber sex for preteens and drug dealing. Naomi has a confidence in her delivery that it was at that point where it’s almost too much, nearly taking you into that cringe area of comedy that so many young new talents inevitably fall into. But she doesn’t, which makes it even funnier.
The show was well polished, hilarious and demonstrated that despite being relatively new to the comedy circuit, both these girls are very talented. In the end, Jess Perkins is the winner of the match. Jess is a natural comedian, and you should definitely expect to see more and more of this girl in the future.
You can see Twins as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival at the Greek Centre from April 11th to April 23rd.
