Reveiwed by Kerry Cooper

February 2015

From the time we are introduced to the Moron family from Birkenhead, we bear witness to a dysfunctional bunch of criminal misfits. Imagine for a second sitting in front of your television at home watching yet another documentary on yet another crime family…well that is precisely what writer and director Matt Byrne has tried to create in his production of Chunderbelly; his take on the popular television series Underbelly. For the most part he is successful. 

Each cast member is responsible for bringing to life several characters. By glorifying the acts of violence and a life of crime they achieve the paradoxical effect of making them both trivial and hilarious. It was essential that Matt use a confident cast as there are more than enough four letter words to go around. Stereotypical characters were taken to the extreme but with funny results. Family matriarch played by Kim York was as foul-mouthed as her sons and convincingly achieved the right amount of street smarts and sass to pull it off. Her sons Snarl Moron and Joey Moron were played respectively by Marc Clement and Brendan Cooney. Each showed wonderful slapstick skills and interacted with the audience comfortably to produce some unexpected improvisational moments. Matt Byrne as Slippery Moron does well to round out the cast, his booming voice welcomed in the musical numbers.

They key is to not take it all too seriously and laugh at the absurdity of the script and portrayal of almost farcical characters. 

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