Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett

On paper, it almost sounds like a lazy conservative parody of liberal arts: a queer, intersectional, multiracial, electropop reworking of Shakespeare. That noise you can hear is Andrew Bolt’s eyes rolling.

But Romeo Is Not The Only Fruit wears its politics incredibly lightly, in favour of presenting a spirited and savvy musical adventure, affectionately ribbing the conventions of romcom.

The main bone of contention is that lesbian characters are never allowed happiness, and almost always end up dead – hence Romeo & Juliet, but with a little Jane Austen thrown in for good measure. There must be drama, conflict and turmoil in the depiction of any gay relationship.

This premise is set up by the chorus of Nisha Joseph, Sasha Chong and Pallavi Waghmode. They also play supporting – if not always supportive – characters in the central romance between Juliet (Margot Tanjutco) and Darcy (Louisa Wall).

Juliet is oppressed by her overbearing traditional mother (Chong) in all aspects, keeping her dreams of being a pilot grounded and her sexuality repressed. Until, that is, she meets the more worldly-wise Darcy, an engineer at the video arcade, and their romance blossoms in a gay bar – much to Mum’s annoyance, and she conspires to end it all.

Although it’s clear that writer and director Jean Tong wants to give a knowing ‘screw you’ to the conventions of romcom – as one deliciously sweary song makes clear – she also embraces them as a narrative shorthand. 

Catchy toe-tappers with savvy satirical lyrics punctuate the action,  while the staging involves inventive cardboard props, upbeat choreography, and a parody of earnest feminist performance art. There’s a neat line of physical humour too, not least in the mismatch between the petite, winsome Tanjutco and sky-high – and very white – Wall

There are a few bumps in the road: the energy is uneven, the initial set-up is a little messy and the chorus’s transition into other characters isn’t always clearly delineated. But there’s no denying the zestful spirit and passion behind this cheery, witty endeavour.

Tong clearly wants to playfully challenge the ‘normal’ way of thinking, in all its forms, which she does by giving the audience, of whatever orientation, a rollicking night out.

Review date: 8 Apr 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett