Opening their performance with a rapid-fire period drama parody that has the room quaking with laughter, this Melbourne-based duo’s particular brand of comedic genius is immediately clear. You never have to wait for the joke, or watch them build up to laboured punchlines, because every line (indeed, every gesture, voice inflection and facial expression) is funny simply for being so astonishingly accurate.
With each character transformation, Harris and Camilleri conjure the kinds of everyday situations you’ve always secretly wanted to laugh at: solemn opening ceremony speeches, say, or bosses who take themselves too seriously.
Their most painfully recognisable roles are a pair of beleaguered Year 8 teachers trying to impress upon us, their giggling pupils, the importance of an upcoming end-of-year ceremony. The character details here (including a certain style of asymmetric ombré tunic top that is just one of many excellent costume choices) are so spot-on that you can’t help but recall specific educational figures from your own past. At once ridiculous and nobly tragic, the teachers later return for an encore to enthusiastic cheers.
Proving they can be just as funny when not being “relatable”, Harris and Camilleri break up these workaday scenes by capering around the stage as velvet-swaddled goblin innkeepers with a penchant for Baz Luhrmann films.
While they certainly deserve a bigger crowd, they make the small venue and smaller audience work to their advantage by incorporating the group in their sketches (as students, hired workers or inn guests) in a way that doesn’t scare off the participation-shy. They’re also happy to improvise with anyone brave enough to contribute a line or two of their own. As a result, everyone feels engaged throughout, and we come away with the sense of having shared something memorable.
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The duo make good use of lighting and sound – and of their sound technician, who gets roped in as a character himself in the school ceremony sketch – to add colour to an otherwise sparse set. Recordings of imagined backstage conversations layered over techno dance beats cover their (impressively quick) costume changes.
The half-dozen morsels in this comedy chocolat box, although brief, are eminently satisfying (should you find yourself wanting seconds, however, both Harris and Camilleri also have solo shows at Fringe). Pét-Nat + Han ah Chocolat is a delightful discovery for those who like their comedy light-hearted and fresh.
Pét-Nat + Han ah Chocolat is playing in The Chapel at the Migration Museum until March 5. Hannah Camilleri is also presenting her solo show Lolly Bag at Arthur Artbar from March 6-11, while Nat Harris is performing Sal at Arthur Artbar across the same dates.
Read more 2023 Adelaide Fringe stories and reviews on InReview here.
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