This piece is an adaptation of a 2001 film which attempts to combine the genres of science fiction, musical and western. In what seems to be a somewhat farcical plot, astronaut Samuel Curtis (Liam Sutherland) is attempting to transport a girl to Jupiter as payment for The Boy Who Actually Saw A Woman’s Breast, who he can then take to Venus and trade for some other guy, who he can then transport to Earth. Or something.

The lighting and projection effects are impressively used in the relatively small venue of Fitzroy’s Workers Club, the myriad detailed props outstanding and the costuming very well attended to. Heralding the excellent production value is the energetic live band Daddy Ferguson and the Ray Babies, whose slide guitar is particularly rocking and whose score adds infinitely to the action. The five or six offbeat song moments are definite highlights of the one hour piece.

The way the actors deal with the absurd material and the overall pace lets the show down a little unfortunately and one gets the sense that something may have been lost in the process of transposing the cult film onto stage. Director James Wray writes “I encourage you to sit back, breathe in and dream with me.” Certainly with this piece a world has been created that you can sit back and enjoy, although perhaps not completely understand, but a tightening of the flow of this world wouldn’t be amiss.

Wray must be praised for some clever stage ideas elsewhere, however and the cast for their commitment, although they were at times inconsistent with their acting style. Definitely an interesting experience and a brilliantly unique fringe show that takes us off this planet and would have been amazing if it hit all the marks.

Matt and Ted’s twist on the classic audience suggestion convention of an improv show is that the slips of paper we’re given pre-show ask for the specifics of a hero, villain, location and catastrophe. These prompt the pair into an inane basic narrative which is just as ridiculous as one would hope for, is clearly an original product of that particular night and benefits greatly from the way the pair manage to not try too hard.

The piece is served well by what we imagine to be a wealth of costumes stored backstage, the choice to have an off-stage microphone and the talent of guitarist Paul Bender. Bender’s moody jazz guitar matches the boys’ effortlessness and adds a much needed layer to a show which takes place upon a stage that is completely empty apart from a  few pieces of wood.

The real strength of the show comes from the clowning ability of both men, who have mastered the delicate skill of being captivating while doing the most mundane things, are willing to accept the most problematic of offers and whose subtle commitment makes it easy for us to go along with them on the bizarre ride of the night while still showing us that cheeky this-is-really-just-all-a-bit-of-a-laugh glint in the back of the eye.

This is sure to be an enjoyable little fringe experience for anyone who can accept the concept of an unscripted show and will leave you in an excellent mood all night. There may not be profound moments which will linger in your memory for much longer than that, but definitely go along, thoroughly enjoy yourself and be surprised by how well the three men on stage do what they do.