A common way to dissuade anxious thoughts is to write them off as silly; extraneous worries that’ll never happen. (What do you mean, don’t talk to that person because they might be a double agent trying to double-cross you? Double-cross you in what? You’re at the Bird, for fuck’s sake.) But there’s only one giggle of geese in this clown town is willing to get seriously silly with these anxious hypotheticals, and they just made a show, and it’s really fucking good, and you should see it.
The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon is a show about an eponymous business woman going about her day, constantly being interrupted by absurd what-if scenarios of her near-future, imagining a world where she took a risk… these worlds tend to end horribly, and fuel an anxious energy that seemingly fuels Melanie’s nervous system. With a spotted cast of characters alongside her, who knows what this day will bring?
The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon. photo: maedforu.
…well watch it to find out, cuz I’m not gonna tell you. Despite being a lover of spoilers, I do think this show deserves an audience in the dark, because it is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and no joke has ever been done a favour by being transcribed in a review. Leave your sensible chuckles at the door, for these Clowns have skeletons made of nothin’ but funny bones!
And I do mean capital-C-Clown, some of the Clowns in this show travelled internationally to Actual Clown School, France, to become Actual Career Clowns. ‘Clowning’ has been growing in the cultural zeitgeist as of late: clowns now get Netflix specials and bro-podcasts, and I am infatuated with it all. What I especially appreciate about clowning as a medium/ideology, and what I think is beautifully on display in Melanie Lemon, is the utilisation of EVERYTHING in the theatre to make a joke. Everything you assume about theatre will be tipped on its head to make you laugh: lighting, sound, stage hands, space work, even the little script the bellboy at the Blue Room says five minutes before the show gets a callback, all in service for a giggle, and successful at that.
The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon. photo: maedforu.
Heading the team as the star of the show, Elise Wilson deserves all the balloon-flowers in the world, both as the creator and as Melanie Lemon. It is like if Mister Bean was Bridget Jones. I have been a fan of her work ever since I saw her and Duncan’s Secret Talent Show last year (which I still can’t shut up about), and somehow every funny thing in Perth since has her name attached, so I highly recommend following her to keep across the local funny business.
What I really appreciate about Elise’s performance in this show is how she props everyone else up. Despite having a hell of a lotta heat in her performance, she only ever matches—if not underplays—the energy of her compatriots, who are in turn absolutely mucking about to the fullest extent. To highlight each individually: the amount of facial articulation Courntey Henri uses as a turd on the ground cracks me up, Tamara Creasy air-playing instruments with such intensity induces a fever, and whenever Duncan Young is supposed to be an invisible stagehand is when I am watching him the most. Elise’s tee-ing up even extends to stage manager (Alli Mack) every so often, who has a soundboard of sound effects; a treat for those who appreciate a good shitpost every once in a while.
The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon. photo: maedforu.
Like a lemon meringue pie, The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon is a treat from start to finish. It is a beautiful display of silliness and absurdity, while staying sincere and earnest in-between the giggles and gaffs. This show has so many things going for it all at once that I’ve left so much out of this review (I didn’t even talk about the puppetry!!), so I highly encourage you to watch it while it’s still around. If you enjoy watching people having fun on stage, don’t miss it for the world, and especially don’t let some anxious what-if scenario stop you.
The Limitless Mind of Melanie Lemon is presented by Elise Wilson at The Blue Room Theatre from 20 Oct – 7 Nov.