The 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco

Since 1976, hundreds of young people have ‘flocked’ to one of Australia’s most renowned and iconic events, the Blue Light Disco. Melbourne based production company, The Dizzy Biz, Alex Cooper (Ja’mie: Private School Girl), Kayla Hamill (La Mama, Clown Doctors) and Jordan Barr (RAW Comedy, Triple J)  are bringing us back and taking audience’s on a nostalgic and cringe-worthy trip down memory lane in this hilarious sketch comedy, The 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco.

Two over-enthusiastic Blue Light Disco volunteers dressed in daggy navy blue polo shirts, backwards caps and the dreaded eye-watering ‘junners’ (jeans and runners) greet the audience with “Welcome to the Blue Light Disco, it’s a bit like San Francisco, not really, come on, it’s Wonthaggi”, to the tune of ‘Hey There Delilah’ and just like that, the cosy Archive room in the Trades Hall of Melbourne is turned into, what for many Australians, was a coming of age rite of passage, The Blue Light Disco. The 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco (Nominee Best Comedy 2018, Melbourne Fringe) is everything that being a tween is: fun, cringeworthy and super gross.

Throughout the show, audience members become re-acquainted with a myriad of clichés from the mid-noughties. From the irritating ‘circle game’ guy (one person makes a circle with their forefinger and thumb, holds it below waist-level, when someone else makes eye contact with the circle, the “circler” gets to punch them in the arm) to the obsessed “Team Edward” fan-girls who bring their own treats to the disco (audience members will never look at Zooper Dooper icy poles the same way again) as well as the “cool” and ignorant pre-pubescent boyz with the popped collars who use empty Twisties chip packets as a substitute for … go and see the show!

Friends since university and writers of the show, Josh Gardiner and Jordan Barr, wrote the sketch comedy as part of a social commentary on the “beautiful conflict of finding out who you are but also trying to act like a part of this weird society that’s going on around you” (JOY94.9). Barr and Gardiner brand the show as Big Mouth meets Full Frontal: ‘it’s those moments that we do cringe about which are a bit disgusting when growing up but also super camp and a dance party’ (JOY94.9). Barr also plays the unforgettably hilarious role of “singing girl” in the show, a character who appears spontaneously on stage singing requests from the audience at random dressed in a silk smock.

Towards the conclusion of the night, in true dance party form, the Nutbush was announced and all partygoers were ordered to the dance floor, boys on one side, girls on the other and lucky audience participants were also able to partake in this interactive experience. The night, however, takes a dark and dramatic turn during Grease’s ‘Summer Nights’. A shocking discovery is made – a young girl’s (played by the talented Alex Cooper) worst nightmare has occurred right before the audience, in her white dress. Instead of running away, a Shakespearean monologue is expatiated by Kayla Hamill, in all the bravery and eloquence, which we could only dream of having at 13 years of age. Hamill spoke as a true warrior with the paint (blood) smeared face to prove it.  

It’s hard not to become captivated with each of the characters of 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco. References to Avril Lavigne, The Veronica’s and My Chemical Romance imbue a sense of nostalgia. The show’s light-hearted conclusion promotes diversity, courage and unity for all.

Make sure you grab a ticket to the dance!

2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco
Till Sunday, 21 April 2019
Trades Hall, 54 Victoria Street, Carlton
comedyfestival.com.au/2019/shows/the-2007-wonthaggi-blue-light-disco