All-female musical improv – Notflix is an early evening treat at the VAULT Festival
“This ain’t a hoedown
This is a showdown”
Because everything is better as a musical right? Notflix‘s spin on the improv wheel is that they come up with an improvised musical interpretation of a film suggested by an audience member (sadly not mine, Dangerous Liaisons le Musical will have to wait for another day). And interpreted is the key word, as no knowledge of said film is necessary as the all-female company riff endlessly and inventively in and around the film’s title.
So this performance saw Independence Day: Resurgence the musical and I don’t think a single cast member had seen it (me neither). But no matter, as we were soon whisked off into a world of savage alien brothers from Zorbatron, horny rednecks on Earth and a plucky spaceship crew who might possibly just be able to save the day… And it was fricking hilarious.
Ailis Duff and Holly Mallett stole the show for me as Jimmy and Johnny the sniffing and sweary alien brothers, battling for supremacy. But there wasn’t a weak link on show, the chemistry in the company clearly well-established to allow everyone their moment to shine, and for some properly funny humour to emerge (I loved that there were no jokes allowed on the spaceship but a hoedown was just fine!).
And musically, it is rather impressive as a ferociously talented keyboardist and percussionist skip from genre to genre to give us country & western, torch songs and in the show’s most inspired number, a Hamilton take off that saw some mighty impressive rapping plus cracking jokes about ET and Liam Hemsworth. What more do you want from an early evening treat that you should be heading over the VAULT to sample right now.
