Review by Steve Bennett

Just when you thought comedy couldn’t get any geekier, along comes Fanfciton Comedy. For the unaware, this is an internet-fuelled phenomenon in which people write fantasy stories using existing popular characters and universes – from Star Wars to comic books; Dr Who to, erm, Neighbours.

As if to demonstrate that the genre isn’t limited to the socially restricted, slick comic Wil Anderson stepped in as producer after being wowed by the show in its native New Zealand. He is very visibly associated with the venture, putting his name in big type on the poster, plugging it at the end of his own show and – tonight at least – joining the line-up of comics reading their own contributions to the fan fiction genre.

Though headlining by dint of his fame, his story about Batman was a little underwhelming, relying on his on-stage charm and self-deprecatory quips about how little effort he’d put into his writing. There were lots of in-jokes about fellow panellist Charlie Clausen, but they were lost on me, as I’d never seen him in the Blue Heelers cop show. Generally though, you don’t have to know the shows Fanfiction Comedy so affectionately parodies inside-out, though a broad knowledge of pop culture is a definite bonus.

The strongest story probably came from regular Joseph Moore, who kicked proceedings off with his imaginative take on Harry Potter. The Lego Harry Potter, that is. His witty yarn relied more on the limitations of block-based characters that it did on in-depth knowledge of Hogwarts, and was brilliantly, inventively funny.

Another permanent team member, Heidi O’Loughlin was quite clearly inspired by her underwhelming stay at Melbourne’s Formula 1 budget hotel, so imagined what sort of mean-spirited motor-racing icon could possibly have come up with such a concept. What again could have been seen as a giant in-joke came off excellently, primarily because her frustrations seemed so real.

A Back To The Future mash-up, Black Ops To The Future, was another delight, written by Clausen, who imagined Marty McFly taken in by US special forces, in a yarn that took some nice unforeseeable twists. Regular Tom Furness found it more of a struggle to stand out with his take on Wind In The Willows, though there were some elegant turns of phrase within the writing. Fan fiction inevitably gets erotic sometimes – a subgenre called slash fiction – and guest Ben Pobjie took this route with his Masterchef tale, that was rather obvious in its relentless list of food-based double entendres.

Most impressive is that all these stories are not well-honed pieces of writing, but created solely for this performance, and there is a strong community feel to the show, which brings strong empathy between performers and like-minded audience. The enthusiasm of host Rose Matafeo certainly shone through, though sometimes her overexcited glee muddied the initial admin of the show, as she garbled introductions and indulged in confusing audience participation.

The offerings are allegedly judged by expert Steven Boyce, whose taciturn non-sequiturs added another dimension to this celebration of the creative, blissfully free from any ironic mocking of die-hard devotees of any fictional world.

Review date: 17 Apr 2012
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival