From the musical improv collective “Spoonerise This!”, Vicarious Cabaret is truly a joy and delight to watch! No two performances are the same, with the show building a makeshift musical from a few prompts provided by an audience member. And if you’re lucky enough, you might just get your life shown on stage for all to see!

With an outstandingly talented cast, including improv performers Ryan O’Dea, Elja Parsons, Mitre Khammash, Kirsty Wigg, and accompanist Jesse Budel, this is a show not to be missed. At the particular performance I had the honour of attending on the 5th of March 2022, audiences were treated to what I can only describe as Play School meets The Walking Dead. Taking inspiration from a French teacher and an OSHC director sitting in the audience, the brilliant cast orchestrated a narrative of a zombie apocalypse taking over Australia, originating from a primary school in Linden Park.

As the show went on, the story soon took full shape, telling of how the lack of government funding for the arts had led to the nationwide zombification of Australia. And amazingly, the only cure for such a vicious outbreak was French culture and a Fringe show to match! By the end of the hour-long show, I could feel the muscles in my face and the sides of my ribs aching from laughing so much. A truly engaging show and a joy to experience, so much so that you’d be crazy not to see more than one performance!

With on-the-spot musical numbers, hilarious story plots, and characters that both inspire and humour, the show is a wild ride of emotions, leaving audiences wondering whether it was truly improvised. The musical numbers seemed to come together out of nowhere but were performed like they had been rehearsed, which is a true testament to the abilities of the cast. I highly recommend this show, especially for those new to the improv scene.