Recipe to success: take one grown Italian waiter, toss in a few stereotypes, add a generous helping of O.C.D., and top it off with a splash of insanity by making the audience join the ‘Pony Dance’. the results will surely leave you reeling from laughter. Giovanni! is a raucous performance by the talented Hew Parham, who despite having grown up in Australia has a proclivity for being able to put on a good Italian accent (and moustachio), and spiel off gibberish that could be mistaken for actual intelligible Italian.
Straight off the bat, Parham has the audience engaged in his performance. His portrayal of Giovanni, a middle-aged Italian waiter with a passion to serve food (and ladies), is brilliant and comical. Playing into stereotypes and putting ridiculous amounts of effort into setting up his restaurant, leaves the audience enjoying a nonsensical comedy that will ultimately leave you wanting more. Parham, for his part is quick and witty in his interactions with audience members, and even takes the chance to poke fun at latecomers. He is not afraid of being the butt end of the joke, and will gladly include anyone, willing or unwilling, to play along with him.
A key focus of Giovanni! is to keep your focus in life, and as Giovanni states many times throughout, don’t settle for shit. Enjoy yourself, take your time, and chase after your passions with the full force of Mount Vesuvius! Parham has done just that with this piece, and it was clearly enjoyed by all who were in attendance. Audience members should not hold back their commentary and support during this performance, give Giovanni as much sass as he dishes out and you’ll be adding unique twists to this performance each time.
While more often than not, when young actors take on characters that are not a part of their own culture, they will stroll down avenues of racist overtones and cliché stereotypes. Here in Giovanni! however, Parham does an excellent job of being entertaining without diverting for jokes that could otherwise undermine his character; perhaps more emerging artists should look towards individuals who deliver great works such as this performance.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Giovanni!
Director: Sarah Dunn
Performed and co-written by: Hew Parham
Produced by: Peta Spurling-Brown
Directed and co-written by: Craig Behenna
Presented by Brisbane Powerhouse and Hew Parham
Studio 53 & 1/2, Brisbane Powerhouse
17 – 20 DEC 2015
