Gen Z take on comedy (again)
Louis Prandolini has created a fantastic second iteration of Gen Z Comedy Talent O-Rama, a structure he founded in 2022 that premiered at the MC Showroom. This year, The Dove Club on Little Collins Street hosted his night of laughs and young talent for MICF. The talent show structure features young comedians in a series of short comedy acts, usually with a winner at the end of the show. It also features a final act of a powerpoint presentation that is being made throughout the show, but more on that later.
I was lucky to see the fantastic Friday night line up, including the Silly Siblings. Luke and Hannah tore up the stage with their juggling act, followed by a game of bop it with a dark twist. Finally, the audience got a glimpse of what was a surprisingly human range of emotions coming from the number 8 powerball.
It’s got to be said, I was not expecting the introduction of a new cheeky character called Bicurious George, who took us on an emotional adventure that I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from. I knew Bicurious George was a deleted character from a previous show of Louis’, You Might Be Incredible (2024), so I was thrilled to see the character manifest through Jake Radford in a monkey hat.
However, there is no doubt that best costume has to go to The Drip Doctor.
The Drip Doctor, or Dr. Drip, was played by Hugo Postregna, who had audience members up on stage to rate their drip. Unfortunately, some of the audience members did require drip surgery. Dr. Drip is known to effectively prescribe patients with dollar sign necklaces and oversized puffer jackets. By the end of the show, Dr. Drip was pleased to announce that the surgery was successful, and that the patient is expected to make a drippy recovery.
Hugo also pursues other side projects such as filmmaking, which you can view on their youtube channel here.
Allegra Penna made a triumphant return as the puppeteer of the female shmoo, who first appeared with a male counterpart in You Could Be Incredible, if I remember correctly. This second instance of the character was an excellent extension, as the bit built a musical love story with Louis. It’s unclear whether Shmoo's love is reciprocated.
As with the previous Gen Z Comedy Talent O-Rama, a powerpoint was being made throughout the night to be presented at the end of the show. This time, it was created by the iconic Stevie G, who was introduced at the start of the show, and given the topic of irrigation by an audience member. His presentation was informative, littered with memes from the performances, and I think Dr. Drip was the star of the show in his eyes. We all learnt something about irrigation that night.
If you’ve never been to a Louis’ show before, now you know what to expect should there be a third iteration of comedy talent o-rama to attend. In the following two performances, the performers planned to have a winner and different line-ups of young comedians.
Louis Prandolini, creative director and host of the show, presented his fair share of comedic talent too. But if you’re interested in something more serious, you can check out his reflective film endeavours on his Youtube channel here. Consuming the content of Louis’ creative projects is always time well spent.
