Review by Steve Bennett

Ah, so it’s one of those wacky, eye-catching festival titles. But more than that, Shane Matheson has fully committed to the idea and plumped for actually presenting a one-man epic entirely about seeking vengeance on immortal space hopper.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the result is utter nonsense, in which Matheson outlines the 500-year battle, their showdowns over the centuries being punctuated by odd musical interludes courtesy of 16th century ballet, country ballads and showtunes.

There is sometimes the feeling this is little more than a grown man playing childish make-believe, occasionally including the audience in his games – especially in the riotous (if far-from unique) finale. But he does so with considerable wide-eyed charm, a knowing glint in his eye how ridiculous, and low-budget, this whole endeavour is.

He can’t re-enact anything smoothly, and the ramshackle nature of the show becomes a selling point. Indeed, it’s often when he goes off-piste that it’s funniest, as sometimes the script gets self-indulgent: especially in an over-long segment about switching religious allegiance between Catholicism and Protestantism.

It’s quite a demand to hope his simple-but-silly idea – a very loose spoof on the Highlander film – will sustain an hour; and indeed it can seem like an overextended sketch. Yet Matheson delivers bursts of undemanding fun, too.

Review date: 16 Apr 2013
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival