Review – Sex With Animals
Sex with Animals isn’t actually about human beings having sex with animals. Thank god. I mean I have seen some weird things at the Adelaide Fringe this year but this isn’t Amsterdam, people. In fact, Sex with Animals would more accurately be described as a live-action educational documentary about the (separate) sexual practices of animals and humans, with Ryan Good, as a ukulele-playing lion, as your host. The comedy in this show is surreal in nature, and even has its musical moments (I mean I suppose you have to have some kind of song and dance number in your show if you are dressed like an extra from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Cats), and it works because Ryan has such charisma and charm on stage.
A lot of comedians incorporate personal stories into their comedy routine, but they tend either to try and mine any serious life experiences for as much comedic gold as can possibly be eked out – this is good, though it may come across as rather soulless when very personal moments of a person’s life have been utterly and completely taken advantage of in order to make an audience laugh. Or, a comedian might reflect on serious personal crises in such a serious manner that it is at a complete odds with the more light-hearted fare offered in other parts of the show. However, Sex with Animals is such an intelligently-paced show that the fascinating insights into animal and human mating, the unexpected reflections on metaphysics and the plain hilarious are so expertly distilled within the show that the serious moments never really feel that out of place, and the funny moments never feel forced.
Whilst this show may at times have its bizarre, student theatre avant-garde moments, for the most part it is wildly entertaining and you may actually leave the Spare Room audience feeling inspired, and willing to ask the bigger questions about the nature of their relationships with others. Or, you might feel the need to go home and YouTube entire playlists of Galapagos turtles mating – it’s up to you.
