Clary's 'rectal humour'
REVIEW - COMEDY
Julian Clary
Position Vacant - Apply Within
The Regal Theatre
Rating - 3.5 stars
Review: Varnya Bromilow
How you feel about Julian Clary probably depends on how you feel about what's perhaps best described as "rectal humour".
The veteran comedian has skirted the edges of controversy for three decades now and although his upfront approach to sexuality no longer holds the shock-comic punch it once had, there's plenty of comic fodder in the escapades of an aging homosexual.
Clary is 56, which, as he puts it, is 374 in gay years. In this latest show, Position Vacant - Apply Within, he indulges his gleeful appetite for bawdiness with the energy of a far younger man.
The first half of the show was unadulterated high camp. Resplendent in a pink glitter jacket and no small amount of eyeshadow, Clary regaled us with tales of the demise of a recent relationship.
If his monologue is to be believed, the impetus for the current Australian tour was borne out of a desire to "sniff around the Antipodes for c**k." If you're wincing at that, then I shall spare you the chatter of bodily leakage…oops!
One of Clary's gifts is his utter ease onstage. Interacting with punters comes so easily, one almost gets the impression he'd rather be chatting with the audience that doing his solo thing. Which is exactly what he does in the latter and larger half of the show.
His need for a husband established, the post-interval performance transforms into a game show in which six blokes are selected from the audience to compete for Clary's hand. Penned into the "mincing meadow" the six are interviewed in turn and then asked to perform for the audience.
While the rest of us laughed ourselves hoarse, the poor devils performed a variety of feats including "apple" bobbing, gargling Passion Pop to the tune of the Irish national anthem and eating a fudge finger in the most seductive manner possible.
Remarkably, though the men were unwitting and in several cases, unwilling volunteers, none of this had the slightest edge of cruelty. Half the men onstage were married straight men and yet seemed quite unembarrassed - quite a feat when you consider that the show culminated in a marriage, attended by bridesmaids (the runners-up) festooned in pink chiffon.
Cheeks hurting, bellies aching, the audience snared some thoughtful respite at the show's conclusion. At a time when gay marriage is becoming de rigeur in Western nations, Clary's last song was a timely reminder that the situation is gravely different in many countries. An unexpectedly sombre ending, which garnered the biggest applause of the night.
