Review by Stephanie Lee
If you are like me and love a trip to the op shop, then this show will also have caught your eye in the line-up of Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows. Op Shop ‘Till You Drop is a brand-new musical comedy by Victoria Angelique Mertzanidis.
As the title suggests, the musical is set in an op shop in Ballarat. The show follows four shoppers, two of them seasoned op shop goers and the other two new to the game. There is Sal (played by Tristan Sicari), who has come in looking to expand his style with a new wardrobe and learns that if you want the good stuff you have to look past just the men’s section. Similarly new is Savannah (played by Veronica Olesh) who is struck with decision paralysis trying to find the perfect outfit for a uni party. Then there are the seasoned op shoppers Vinnie (played by Oscar O’Brien) who is addicted to buying teapots and Scarlett (played by Sian Dowler) an enby embroidering master who knows exactly how to find the perfect fit.
I love that each character is a homage to different popular op shops, with their names a play on Vinnies, Salvos, Sacred Heart and Savers. There is plenty of niche op shop humour that makes this show super fun and light-hearted, making a perfect first comedy show of the night.
The highlight of the writing is definitely some of the character exchanges and the premise of many scenes. For instance, there is an operatic number where Sal is haunted by ties in the men’s section which is quite amusing.
The actors also manage to sell the silly charm of the characters and plot. Olesh gives us a ditzy but sweet Savannah who you can’t help but feel for, Sicari wonderfully captures the fretful nature of Sal, and Dowler’s empowered but perfectly awkward Scarlett is delightful. Perhaps the goofiest and most loveable character is O’Brien’s Vinnie, which is sold by O’Brien’s knack for comic timing.
This show has a great premise and with further development I can see it being fully realised into a fun, dynamic short musical for fringe festivals. If you want a first show of the night, stop by The Butterfly Club and catch this fab team with lots of op shop humour for all to enjoy!
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