★★★★★
Zack Zucker and Viggo Venn call themselves professional clowns as they were trained at the renowned École Philippe Gaulier clown school. They aren’t the haunt-your-dreams type of clown, they’re not any kind you would be familiar with, actually. Their show, Thunderflop!, seems somewhat random and is heavily intertwined with audience participation, but is high energy and utterly hilarious.
Be warned: this show is pure silliness from the beginning. From multiple costume changes revealing layers of the same costume to a human claw machine that plucked my guest out of the audience as the “prize” (whom they kissed. There was a lot of audience kissing. A lot.)
The show is hard to keep up with in a good way, and almost impossible to review. As the performers stated: “People ask what type of show we do…we have no idea?” That being said, Zach and Viggo are no joke. The duo have done three international tours across Europe, the US and Australia. Throughout their travels, Zach and Viggo have won a stack of awards including The Guardian’s Top Comedy Pick in 2016, and sold out back-to-back seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe, Comedy Central and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Zach and Viggo do a fantastic job of keeping you busy with minimal — or at least very cheap — props. You’ll never know what happens next and it’s clear the performers are in the same boat, cracking each other up as much as the patrons. I’m sure the show is somewhat planned out, despite the fact it gives off the impression it really isn’t.
If it’s all sounding a little bit weird, it really is. However, you can rest easy knowing there’s a segment of stand-up comedy in the middle of the show, specifically placed to make the show more accessible to the general audience.
Fans of music will enjoy a solid rendition of ‘Baker Street’ performed live on a saxophone. Fans of love will enjoy the wedding which closes out the show with the lesson that the hot water is always hot. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Confused? Welcome to the club, this show is borderline insanity.
Zach & Viggo’s Thunderflop! is low-brow comedy from two classically trained actors with a quirky sense of humour. The show is beyond entertaining and is absolutely worth an hour of your evening during this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Now, back to drying the spit out of my shirt from the Baywatch skit. Pure brilliance.
Highlight: Not hearing Viggo’s cucumber fact.
Lowlight: Literal spit on my shirt.
Crowd favourite: Zach’s dangerous stunts.
Zach & Viggo’s Thunderflop! is running until Sunday April 21 as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
