This is Aunty Donna’s fourth Edinburgh Fringe, they have a huge following and return as popular as ever. The room is packed with fans – both Aussies and home-grown Scots – and after an hour of their hilarious, so stupid it’s kind of clever, rapping, dancing, big beats, improv and sketches I am officially converted too.
These guys are the epitome of Aussie humour – loud, silly, a little bit dirty and intelligent.
Aunty Donna is made up of Australian high-school/uni mates Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zach Ruane – and this year, they’ve brought along Tom Armstrong with them as well to provide some big beats and sound to the stage. They’ve got a huge following on YouTube, (which I will be showing to all of my friends) but their humour and sketches have translated very well to stage, something that not all YouTube comics can do.
The three work together seamlessly, providing smooth sketches that are beautifully timed to the backing music provided by Armstrong. They open with the stupidly catchy Drum Song, which I keep finding myself singing along to at all opportunities, before taking us through the art of rap battles, how to uncover the devil in your audience and giving us a glimpse into what happens on a phone sex hotline. Their show this year, Big Boys, is relevant for every millennial and 20-something out there; the scenarios that are highlighted in their sketches have really hit the right tone for the fans that they attract – and that works wonders for them.
The Big Boys themselves, are all individually hilarious – the friendship and interaction between them sets this sketch show apart from many others at the Fringe; I get the impression that they sit around talking about silly sketch ideas for a lot of their time, and that they have a serious bro-mance going on. This also allows for some great improv at times – some of the biggest laughs came from the unexpected tangents and it really was a testament to the strength of connection within the group that this worked so perfectly.
These guys are the epitome of Aussie humour – loud, silly, a little bit dirty and intelligent. Big Boys is so well-executed and Aunty Donna are so full of charisma and charm that you can‘t help but laugh and smile through every second of the show.
