Nick Coyle in Me Pregnant! – Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Published April 2010 in Crikey
Me Pregnant! has very little to do with actually being pregnant. It features only in the beginning, when the story revolves around the monstrous survivor of a doomed litter and their mother.
The person who led some terrorised villagers to slay the beast ends up living a life of isolation and despair after the villagers turn on her when things don’t go back to perfect living after the death of the monster.
It’s a weird, twisted affair with numerous creepy characters and the usual mandatory modern references, only in this case it’s to stuff like Le Snak biscuit-and-cheese packs and answering telephones in full medieval attire. Me Pregnant! doesn’t really takes itself too seriously, thank goodness, because it makes the peculiar storyline easier to swallow.
Nick Coyle’s stage presence seems to be the primary engine behind this curious, quirky, mind-bending and time-warping show. His performance will not necessarily suit everyone’s tastes; for some reason, it makes me think it’s very ‘Gen Y’ for its self-referencing, post-modern twist on medieval satire.
But it’s hard to deny that Coyle has talent, and that whenever he is onstage he is effortlessly commanding the attention of the entire audience. He also has gumption, considering he spends the entire time on stage in a short black smock and blindingly red stockings.
It’s interesting to watch someone operate on a limited budget but maximise effectiveness. His props are cheap but cleverly used; you’d never think fake candles could work so well, but the way Coyle utilises them demonstrate that a bit of tacky electronics work can get you far. If you’re up for something a little bit different, Me Pregnant! is certainly that. But it’s also an ambitious and genuinely entertaining slice of oddity that aligns perfectly with the kind of diverse acts to appear at the comedy festival over the years.
Nick Coyle in Me Pregnant! is on at the Melbourne Town Hall, Tuesday – Saturday 6pm, Sunday 5pm until April 22nd.
