New year, new UTS Main Revue. It brings me great pain that this year I am no longer a part of the cast like I have been for the past two years, but I am fortunate enough to know so many beautiful and talented people involved in the production, including the two directors!
Co-Directors Leo Larmer and Louis-Sebastien Danoy are theatre boys who have been doing theatre for as long as they can remember, and have been inseparable since fatefully meeting in Year 7. Leo was taken by the idea of directing theatre after being a cast member in the 2023 CRAP main revue, which made him fall in love with the wacky, crazy, silly world of sketch comedy (and his girlfriend Mia Rankin – shoutout to our Arts and Lifestyle Editor).
In response to Leo's request to share the role of director with him, Louis replied with a simple "YES", and was finally dragged into the revue world that for so long, he had only been a passive participant in. Having been long-time collaborators, previously working on films and interactive games together, directing the 2024 UTS Main Revue has been a new and exciting feat for them.
“We know each other really well. I know that if I'm not good at something, I’ll ask Leo and he’s like yep! I’ve already got it done, which makes working with each other a lot easier.” says Louis.
“And vise-versa!” Leo chimes in.
After months and months of tireless rehearsals, dance practices, writer's meetings, and intensive workshops, the cast is finally ready to take to the stage this week at the Pact Theatre in Erskineville.
This year, the boys are aiming to do something a little different than previous UTS revues by incorporating a heavily interactive aspect to the show. Drawing on inspiration from classic murder mystery films, the theme of this year’s revue is: There Has Been A Murder! at the UTS Comedy Revue, which will challenge the audience to figure out the mystery as it unfolds on stage – a murder committed by the menacing Stage Stalker.
“[This theme] was so exciting to us because, well, we’re a bit nerdy, and we had heaps of ideas like comic-con or superheroes. We wanted to do horror, but UTS POC Revue had already done aPOCalypse so we didn’t want to copy them, but then we thought Murder Mystery was kind of adjacent to that. Then we thought hmmm, why don’t we make the show a sort of murder mystery in itself?” Leo says.
“Leo loves interactive media. So when he mentioned it I was like oh, we have to do this,” says Louis.
“It’s still a sketch show through and through but it’s got this new element to it. We find it so fun that traditionally within revues, things always go wrong, and something is always so distinctive each night. We want to sort of capture that energy to make sure each night is different.”
Apart from that, expect to see the usual heightened drama of comedy, musical parodies, slapstick humour, and sketches about all your favourite niche topics. There’s truly something for everyone. A selling point of revues for me has always been their ephemeral nature. They exist to be performed at a certain point in time, because often the jokes are specifically relevant to the cultural moment in which they exist. So, come spot your favourite niche pop culture gag in a sketch, and giggle until your ribs hurt. Though watch out! You might be the Stage Stalker’s next victim…
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There Has Been A Murder! at the UTS Comedy Revue is showing at the PACT Centre for Emerging Artists from Wednesday the 3rd to Saturday the 6th of July. You can find more information at @crap.uts on Instagram and purchase tickets via the link below.
https://events.humanitix.com/there-has-been-a-murder-at-the-uts-comedy-revue