REVIEW:
When the Fred Award nominees came out in 2019, I was a little surprised to see Barnie Duncan's name on there. It was nothing against him or his show Taphead – it was simply that, with so many dozens of shows on in each festival, that had passed under
the radar.
It was with great curiosity that I went to see his latest show, Bunny, which has already been billed as "future award winning". Even after catching his set at the Basement Preview show, I had very little idea of what to expect, and it turns out that's the best way to enter one of Duncan's shows.
Bunny is ostensibly about clubbing, with Duncan aiming to recapture the glory and freewill that comes with the experience after a year spent in Melbourne's ongoing lockdowns. But he makes it clear early on he is also performing the show in the months after his mother's death, shortly after becoming a father himself.
While it may sound like a bleak premise, Duncan makes it clear it's not a "dead parent show". Grief and coping weaves through the show, but Bunny is largely a collection of eccentric mimed sketches, impressions and dance breaks that diverge into tangents on cruel butterflies, nostalgia bros and animal abuse.
