What Would Scooby Doo?

I’m currently touring in New Zealand, and was super chuffed to get a chance to play FanFiction Comedy, an amazing show by a bunch of gifted young Kiwi stand-ups. The premise is what it says on the tin.

Review for Grand Guignol

Just taking a quick break from my stories to let you know about the live show which hits Melbourne in four days time. There’s a review below from the Adelaide run (the only media review for the full version of the show so far), and it’s a good ‘un. Originally published in Rip it Up magazine, from Adelaide, on Thursday Feb 21.

Dave Bloustien: Grand Guignol
Gluttony – The Piglet, Tue Feb 19

Grotesque Hansel And Gretel-with-her-body-on-backwards puppets began the show on a miniature stage. The idea of an hour-long puppet show was more terrifying than all the stories combined, but luckily Bloustien soon appeared as the first of his many characters.

Grand Guignol told the tales of Tutankhamen’s penis, the real face of politics, coffee experts and the fate of a beat-poet salesman. The script was fabulously written, using vivid and peculiar descriptions to evoke the horrific and hilarious.

Bloustien’s expertise as a stand-up comedian meant that improvised deviations from the script had as much humour and intelligence as the rehearsed lines. His childhood memories of the Grand Guignol Theatre (and a mugged Parisienne prostitute in a fur-lined bikini) added a personal touch. Grand Guignol’s comic horror is a ghoulish treat. You’ll learn to never trust a barista, and to never wake the baby. Murder will never make you laugh so hard.

Final Word: Twisted.
Ilona Wallace

Grand Guignol is on at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival March 28 – April 7
Tickets available here.

Video Trailer for Grand Guignol

New, updated trailer for Grand Guignol, featuring music performed by Peter Hollo and puppets designed by Lana Schwarcz.