Asher is not your average comedian, and Troubadour is not your average festival show. The stage is bare, bar the six hats separately lit on pedestals. The hats represent de Bono’s six coloured thinking hats that Treleaven masterfully uses to shape his narrative
Treleaven, a lanky hipster owns that stage from the moment he enters it, taking us through an articulate, verbose and vocabulary rich audio-autobiography.
Starting with a beat poem to rip through his school years the audience is at the mercy of his multiple talents honed through years at circus school and as a street performer. His physicality underscores the show as he gives absolutely everything. The Melbourne Hall Cloak Room is (as Treleaven himself describes) a sauna – his performance could be likened to the physical workout of a 60 minutes Bikram Yoga class. Although already thin, he has to be shedding kilos each performance, doing a full run of shows this festival he runs the risk of disappearing altogether.
If only street performers could make the diabolo as raucously entertaining as his “sexy diabolo” routine, they would not have to beg for money at the end of their busking shows. The enactment of engorging an increasingly aroused penis is not offensive but side-splittingly funny.
Returning to his busking routes, Treleaven concludes by asking the audience to demonstrate their enjoyment of the show, not by putting money in a hat, but through applause. All of the audience clapped and cheered at length.
A must see of this year’s festival, just be sure to take a towel to wipe yourself down and water to keep yourself hydrated as the room is hot, damn hot!
For more Melbourne International Comedy Festival reviews check out The Pun www.anewleaf.com.au
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