We’ve Not Been Ourselves In Outer Space
Following in the tradition of their previous show, the duo again deconstructed the world of comedy this time adding the ingredient of science fiction. The lads find themselves kidnapped from backstage at a comedy gig and awake in deep space. It is soon revealed that they have been chosen to fight a comedy virus that is consuming the universe and stripping it of humour. They also find that the selection was due more to their expendability than any perceived potential.
Ill prepared, but with little option, they set about trying to arrest the spread of the virus by combating it with routines
of var ying comic genres and a range of sci-fi weaponry that came without instructions.
“We’ve Not Been Ourselves In Outer Space”, was the white space suit phase of the duo and reinforced the notion that painting a couch sliver and playing with a balloon in slow motion are all the special effects you need to denote outer space. It also proved that by adding words Outer Space to a forgettable duo title, it renders it more forgettable.
1998 Melbourne Fringe Festival
1999 Melbourne Comedy Festvial
Steve Waldon
The Age, April 16th, 1999
“Local comics Damian Callinan and Lawrence Mooney must have the most adverse conditions of the festival – a small venue, a small audience and the attendant pressure of a taxing production. But with verve and confidence they presented an hour of funny routines, making a virtue of the limitations. The show hinges on the vague pretext: two comedians are sent into the cosmos to battle an anti comedy virus. What follows is an excuse to analyse comedy, from mime to observational humour to Benny Hill Slapstick. Although much of the humour is broad farce, the audience is constantly engaged by the duo’s energy and yes, some very funny lines. The imitation of a giraffe looking for a car park is tremendous stuff. Wacky, silly and deserves bigger crowds.”
