They say you don’t know yourself until you take your first hit. If that’s true, it seems fair to say that Tegan Higginbotham knows herself extremely well. In Million Dollar Tegan, Tegan’s sixth appearance at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, we hear the comedic story firsthand of how Tegan came to find herself competing in a professional boxing match in front of more than one thousand people.
As Tegan’s quick to point out, she’s doesn’t look much like a boxer; “Tinkerbell” is a better descriptor. In fact, she doesn’t have much of a killer instinct either, but what she does have is a lot of determination and a mind impressionable enough to act on a casual viewing of Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.
Tegan is an inclusive and captivating storyteller who, after her amusing entrance to no lesser music than the Rocky theme, makes the effort to chat with her audience and throughout the show, acknowledge their reactions. Tegan’s comfort with her content is obvious, having performed Million Dollar Tegan as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival earlier this year, which earnt her a “Best Newcomer” nomination. However, Tegan seems to have made alterations to the show specifically for the Fringe, updating the content in light of recent events pertaining to her professional boxing career, as well as working in some special “artistic” moments.
Tegan’s jokes come thick and fast over the hour. Some are ruder than others, though, and while strong language is used throughout the performance, it is not excessive. That said, Million Dollar Tegan also offers some more heart-felt moments, especially when we come to Tegan’s explanation of the boxing match itself. Through her physical comedy and storytelling prowess, Tegan is able to create the world in the minds of her audience, conjuring vivid pictures of the situations described and the people she met along the way. However, the occasional joke can fall flat due to its outlandishness, temporarily pulling the audience out of the action as they question how much of what Tegan is saying actually happened, and how much is fabricated for entertainment’s sake. Luckily, these moments are short-lived and far between.
Contrary to the description on the Fringe Festival website, footage of Tegan being hit in the face is not shown as part of the show because as Tegan explains, she still cannot bring herself to watch it. (However, it is available on her website.)
Unfortunately, on the night of attendance, Tegan’s audience was disappointingly small. I’ll attribute this to it being Grand Final day, but a show such as this really does deserve a bigger crowd. Funny, charming, oddly inspiring and just a little bit rude, Tegan Higginbotham in Million Dollar Tegan is definitely worth a see.
Tegan Higginbotham in Million Dollar Tegan runs until 13 October at the Rehearsal Room – North Melbourne Town Hall. Full ticketing information is available on the website.
