By Nick Pilgrim
One of the delights of reviewing the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is discovering brilliant new talent for the first time. With more than 600 acts and events on offer, chances are many punters will be in the same boat as well. Taking a veritable deep dive into the unknown is part of the fun, and in this instance, you will be so glad you did.
Dirk Darrow: 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick combines the mysterious flair of film noir and detective stories in the style of James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiel Hammett plus the timeless magic of Harry Houdini or David Copperfield. Slick, handsome and assured, Dirk Darrow (played by Tim Motley) is his own person.
Completing the private detective persona, Darrow dresses in a three-quarter length trench coat, smoking an e-cigarette, while modelling a fedora hat tipped just so.
The mood is quickly set with a gripping yarn about a bank heist and a missing prime suspect. It should be noted that by adding cheeky asides and clever wordplay, Darrow elevates the narrative to another level.
He also weaves various acts of interactive trickery into the experience which left this critic absolutely viewer gob smacked.
Before the show, volunteers are asked to fill in a small card which includes space to write their name, favourite colour, and occupation. From there, we’re to fold up these papers and leave them in a mesh wastepaper bin on stage. At no point prior to commencement, neither the bin nor our contributions are touched.
Picking a card at random from the basket, Darrow chose mine. How he was able to determine my job as a graphic designer, the colour blue, and that I was reviewing the show as well is head-shaking stuff indeed.
You must simply see it in person to believe it.
At this point, I was reminded of Penn and Teller’s hit television series, Fool Us. There, magicians are asked to demonstrate tricks in front of a live audience, meanwhile seeing if they can stump the iconic duo how they were done.
By maximising Friday night’s experience to full effect, my suggestion would be to leave the how and the why alone and concentrate on the who and the what instead.
In my fifteen years of reviewing, four similar presentations spring to mind. These being:
- The Illusionists 2.0 (2015)
- Six Impossible Things Before Dinner (2010)
- Mystery Radio Theatre (2017)
- Club Vegas – The Spectacle (2023)
Dirk Darrow: 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded is an outing where audiences are gifted two shows for the price of one. The tongue-twisting storyline will keep your attention. The various acts of trickery demonstrated over this fifty minute show will leave you speechless.
(For fans of J.K Rowling, it should be noted that Motley also fronts a second show in 2025 called Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry.)
One of the rare treats of this or any year for discerning viewers who are also fans of audience participation, Dirk Darrow: 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded plays for a strictly-limited season until Sunday April 6.
Catch it while you can.
