Review | Kieran Eaton
Robert Hoffmann and Penny Shaw are experienced singers that come together for their love of music! Shaw already had a successful in London in her young adulthood and made the brave move to try a career in Perth, in the name of love (not with Hoffmann!) – so due so to the COVID pandemic, twenty years ahead of the game in moving to the now biggest art hub of the world!
This quaint and camp musical performance is set the old surrounds of Perth Girl’s School, a venue perfect for their recollection of old musical masterpieces threaded together in the theme of odd coupling. The duo dress in a suave manner that suits the tone of old school performance, with the cheerful pianist accompaniment of Tommaso Pollio in the background.
The team gets straight into business with little preamble, but the theme is consistent enough for the audience to not know a song and still enjoy the talent in the performance. Still, there is some crowd interaction to ensure that a bit of the acts’ personalities display. There is no strong story arc in the order of the songs, however this works in allowing for a silly start tune about being in love with a dog. Hoffmann and Shaw equally present themselves with good humor that would normally accompany more laughs, yet their singing abilities leave you in too much awe for laughter to ensue. If you are not a musical nerd, you may feel that you cannot connect to their sensibilities – however, the mild banter between the two keeps things real. Also, this performance had act outs of famous people from an amusingly accurate Prince Charles and Diana, to a classic odd couple of Peter Sellars and Sophia Loren! The depictions even go into fictional character from Downton Abbey that you still get the age gap odd coupling, even if you are not a fan of the television series.
It is relaxing journey, led by professional locals taking you back to the glory days of cabaret. If you want a break from young Millennials trying to take over the world than Mismatched is a show for you. You will be left giving big rounds of applause and a warm feeling of gratitude that FRINGEWORLD 2021 has been able to highlight more Perth talents than ever!
Why not check out just how Mismatched this pair are HERE?
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