First Crack

Darcy Fleming, Matt McCartney and Prue Blake are the bright, up and coming trio that makes up the   comedy group ‘Leaky Bucket’ which they formed in 2016.  Each with a comedy background in improvisation, sketch, theatre and stand up, they present their show First Crack at MICF 2017.

It’s instantly noticeable the great rapport the trio have performing together and the excitement that they exerted on stage from the onset.  Always spurring each other on, the limelight shone on all three in equal quantity.  Appearing to be wholesome, fresh faced and nervous, you soon learn that looks can be deceiving. 

In all the chaos and ambiguity of the sketches First Crack is game playing; three different individuals competing with each other, judging and finding personality faults and flaws, turning on each other at every opportunity. With much backstabbing and hustling each is competing to be the standout charmer, in the pursuit of self-confidence. There’s always that fine line of inappropriateness that comedy has a license to cross; the trio execute that privilege, but don’t entirely break the boundaries, it’s subtle rather than hard-core and edgy.

First Crack is jam-packed with enthusiasm, however it is actually about nothing really, with lots of nonsensical content, but loaded with humour, quite a decent dose of it. Provoking little effort of brainpower, yet inciting a great deal of laughter, the ultimate goal of the show is achieved. It made us laugh.

So if you suffer from self-doubt yourself this is not a well-being session, and with a less than happy ending you won’t leave the show with a warm and fuzzy message. But you will leave satisfied and smiling as we do love to laugh at each other’s short falls, and our own misfortunes and hang ups for that matter, and it’s a good thing, after all, laughter is indeed the best medicine.  Well done to Leaky Bucket for a very witty piece.

Lisa Romeo