Shouting Over Drunks
DeAnne Smith
Tuxedo Cat
Until Sun 16 March


DeAnne Smith originally hails from New York but now lives in Canada, and has quickly summed up Adelaide and its people, just as, it seems, she scopes in on each audience. One thing about being an over-hyped pint sized lesbian who has two alcoholic parents, I guess - it doesn't matter what she says about anyone else for it will often somehow reflect back on her own upbringing. And anything that's good for a laugh is good enough for Smith as she cheerfully steps out and greets and treats her crowds with as much politically incorrect good cheer as she can bluster her way through.

'Shouting Over Drunks' is, for all intensive purposes, an apt title for her show as Smith is obviously up for the challenge to take on whatever comes her way without caring too much if everyone gets her jokes or not. She's just happy as long as some people understand her flimsily digressive views on matters without her having to add too much explanation to the punch line, and even then that just creates even more cause for her to take one step further to the edge.

Smith may dislike other people's children and our fifty cent piece and admirably criticise our deaf and blind friendly pedestrian crossings, but get her onto the subject of vaginal reconstruction surgery and pussy lip gloss and then she really becomes passionate. And it's that undeniable shock and awe passion for getting an instant reaction from audiences that motivates this boisterous, wide smiled nanny from Hell right to the front of the stage and straight into their faces. Ch-ch-ch-check her out - Bam!

Steve Jones