Sometimes, in the lampooning of greatness, you achieve it.

The Cuck Chair is a re-mounting of Catfish Trifecta‘s successful experimental improv/sketch comedy clusterfuck, this time with more power, more energy, more Fringe Festival. Performed by Mo Munn, Ralph Hilaga and Joel Luscombe with support from Aaron James Douglas, Emma Jean, and Q Potts, the show proves that a troupe that comes together, cums together.

There’s a variety of disciplines involved in The Cuck Chair, from clowning to improv to sketch to musical numbers and interpretive dance. Anything, essentially, to capture the attention of the coveted ‘Fringe’ audience. The show is the definition of experimental as the performers stumble their way through a series of hilarious gaffes, trying to discern what exactly they need to do to reach acclaim from a festival that has long since abandoned any semblance of enjoying their comedy.

The performances from the cast are as strong as ever.

Ralph Hilaga is relentlessly sexual, unafraid to get close to his fellow performers without ever making them or the audience feel uncomfortable. Joel Luscombe is a schmuck of all trades, desperately clinging to an air of authority while his world collapses around him. Mo Munn shows off what she’s best at with a constantly panicked face and a singing voice that’s way too good to be singing about the desires of a cuck chair.

Support comes in the form of tech, Q Potts, who appears regularly in a gimp mask, Aaron James Douglas whose costume design alone should win awards and Emma Jean, who perfectly embodies the spirit of the festival.

Every part of the show seems stupid on the surface. It’s a lot of cum jokes at such a fast pace that once the show reveals its true aim, you’re taken aback. You want to turn your brain off and enjoy the chaos building and surrounding you, but as their parodies of traditionally lauded Fringe shows play out, you can’t help but actually engage with it on a deeper level. A monologue about being the presidential cuck chair seems like a throwaway bit at first, but the sheer commitment transforms it into something that’s kind of actually beautiful?? I don’t want to spoil anything more than that but despite taking the piss, Catfish Trifecta have actually put together a phenomenally competent showcase of all their talents. It’s like watching a bunch of ice hockey players ironically attempting quadruple axels to make fun of the figure skaters, but actually nailing them in the process. While wanking.

This is the consequence of Fringe’s gradual drift into homogenisation. Catfish Trifecta are the kids that were deemed ‘too much’ by the theatre kids. In an age where Fringe is prioritising works that are more about the message than the actual craft, The Cuck Chair stands out as a batshit show that does everything ‘serious’ shows do, but better. Even within the comedy space, we’re starting to see a shift to ‘avant-garde’ bullshit. It’s no longer about simply making people laugh, it’s about manipulating an audience into believing what they’re seeing is higher than other comedy, thus removing the need to actually be funny. Catfish Trifecta spits on that ideology, then fists it until it cums. They are not interested in sending a message. That is the message. The laughs they receive from the audience are real, genuine guffaws, not inside giggles. They pull visceral reactions out of the crowd, while the establishment can do nothing but watch the audiences they want being pleasured.

The Cuck Chair is an authentic critique of elitism in the arts. It is messy, it is crass, it is an indulgence that the audience loves watching as much as the performers love doing it. They promise a parody. They deliver. They promise filth. They deliver. They promise a disaster. It is anything but. It’s about time somebody stood up for the silliness of the arts.

And it’s about time some people sat down.

Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show. Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.

Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though