Australia’s self-proclaimed grammar comedian Louisa Fitzhardinge has performed her critically acclaimed musical comedy Comma Sutra over 100 times across multiple sold-out seasons. With so many performances under her belt, it makes sense that her performance is as flawless as her ability to conjugate verbs in multiple languages.
Fitzhardinge is semi-fluent in German, and has studied Auslan, French, Italian, Spanish and Danish – a fact that is both impressive and relevant to the show.
Comma Sutra is a cabaret about language that proves the acquisition of two arts degrees was a wise career move after all. It’s cleverly written, magnetically performed and genuinely novel in both concept and execution.
Comma Sutra review – quick links
Taking words seriously
Fitzhardinge dreams about meeting a pale, bespectacled word-nerd with whom to spend her life. This – according to the marketing – is the crux of the show. It’s not, though. That honour belongs to language itself, around which everything else revolves.
From deconstructing her own name to expounding on the mortal danger of missing commas, Fitzhardinge takes words seriously without ever seeming serious. Her personable manner and punny banter engages the audiences as effortlessly as her wittily scripted content.
Lovers of language will love her love of language – and if you’ve ever wanted to know how to say ‘Donald Trump’ in Auslan, well, it’s funnier than you think.
Bookworms, dad jokes and bibliophilia
There’s a whole song about how grammar makes this cunning linguist hot, which cleverly merges cheeky innuendo with conventions of the English language. Lyrically hilarious and cheekily presented, this song – and every other performed throughout the show – is accompanied by pianist Greg ‘Grerg’ Lavell.
Mostly on piano, Lavell also cracks out the accordion for a rap about German words with extremely literal meanings. This may not sound entertaining but it really, really is.
Other standout songs include a surprisingly emotional tale about a bookworm, a delightful ditty about dad jokes, and Australia’s most rational anthem about bibliophilia. Bursting with witticisms and playful pronunciation, Fitzhardinge’s lyrics are as smooth as her vocals.
There are many laugh-out-loud moments, including real-life examples of incorrect quotation mark use, improvised limericks set to music, and a silent-film-esque journey into awkward Auslan mix-ups.
Comma Sutra is quirky etymological fun for linguistically curious grammarians and bookworms who love learning for the sake of learning. Intelligent, hilarious and unique, it’s the most highbrow comedy you’re likely to see at FRINGE WORLD this year – but not next year, because this is Perth’s final season.
