Reviewed by Odette McCarthy
I was eager to be at this event as soon as I read the pre-summary for the Celebrity TheatreSports fundraiser for Canteen. Before even realizing it was a fundraiser, I was excited by the concept. The notion of theatre sports always enthralls me. As a former student and lover of the dramatic arts, I know that theatre sports can be nerve-racking for the performers, surprising and overall entertaining to all involved. Largely improv, the acts can be taken by the people involved in any direction.
I have seen the work of Canteen to be effective for young people with cancer affecting their lives. I believe it to be a very worthwhile charity, or rather a community that provides connection, communication and brief escapes from the realities being faced. Young people sharing similar experiences and thus similar emotions and reactions have a safe place to share or to just be themselves.
The Enmore Theatre packed out to support the cause and have a good old chuckle at the scenarios being created before our very eyes. The 12 celebrities involved included people I have grown up with (via tele-visual education, Benita Collings from PlaySchool will always own part of my heart), familiar faces from TV and comedy (Andrew O’Keefe, Adam Spencer, Matt De Groot, Rob Carlton, Jioji Ravulo, Nicola Parry, Daniel Cordeaux) plus 12 imrov pros to assist. It was interesting and gratifying to see which familiar faces got involved in a good cause. I really enjoyed the whimsical approach of these celebs in a different setting, as they were put on the spot in front of the audience, by the audience.
The audience were laughing the whole way through, myself included, as one does when wit stuns on the spot. I needed a laugh that very day and I got more than what I thought I would. And all the night’s fun for an amazing cause.