Review by Steve Bennett

You can take the clown off the street, but that doesn’t mean he’ll change his shtick.

Pedro Tochas, the first Portuguese act ever to perform at the Melbourne comedy festival, mixes balloon modeling, broom juggling and, most importantly, audience participation in a show that’s very true to its outdoor roots.

Tochas makes us scream ever louder, as if to suck in passing trade, while communicating largely by blowing a whistle, easily heard over the street noise he’s used to competing against.

But is main distraction here is the form of heckling from crying babies. He counters the problem with a witty bit of balloon work – and yes, he proves balloons can be witty.

The bulk of his performance is acting out an epic tableau of love and loss using three audience participants of varying degrees of willing, involving ever-more ridiculous mimes.

He conveys what they have to do not through language, but by squawking ‘eh-eh-eh’ like a demented Teletubby and then demonstrating. The joke every time is that he doesn’t quite convey what they have to do, then gets mock-angry when they don’t do it. It is funny, though subject to diminishing returns, while the act of wordlessly getting volunteers’ compliance has probably been conclusively nailed by former festival favourite The Boy With Tape On His Face.

The big scene he creates is reminiscent of something Adam Hills – whose company Dick The Horse happens to be producing this show – might try with his crowd, although with the distinct advantage of being able to articulate the comedy in the situation. How funny it is largely depends on the ‘victims’, too – though both too reticent and too enthusiastic have their own payoffs.

Balloon props are delightful, and in yellow plaid trousers, floppy beret, red nose and braces, Tochas conveys emotion with typically big, clownish gestures. It’s all pretty enjoyable, but you can’t escape the feeling you could see similar shows in Federation Square, and put a lot less than the $23 a head you’ll pay for these tickets into the hat.

Review date: 13 Apr 2010
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett