Theatre
Review
The Miss Behave Gameshow is hilarious, chaotic fun
We headed along to the opening night of The Miss Behave Gameshow at Arts Centre Melbourne to find out just how wild it really is.
As you enter Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio and completely lose all phone reception (thank you for that wi-fi) it’s hard to know exactly what to expect from your night at The Miss Behave Gameshow.
Sat onstage is Miss Behave herself – in all her gold-glittered splendour – and her fabulous assistant Tiffany. Handfuls of lollies are distributed – see: wildly thrown – into the audience and immediately Miss Behave is in hostess mode, firing off sassy, witty, crass banter and adapting to every moment without missing a single beat.
From here, the night is anyone’s guess. The room is divided into two teams according to their phones – usually iPhones and others, but tonight it’s iPhones and Apples. The game’s basic structure is simple – Miss Behave fires through round after quickfire round, but because the show completely relies on audience participation, anything can happen. And you can bet it will.
There are no rules here. Miss Behave actively and constantly encourages cheating but also urges audience members to think for themselves. The opening rounds include Dial My Number Quickest, Favourite Number, and Shout Loudest and everything moves so fast that a few minutes in audience members seem unsure about what they are supposed to – or even allowed to – do.
However, ten minutes later and the anything-goes nature of the night has been truly embraced. The crowd is on their feet screaming and dancing along with each round, shouting out profanities, making jokes, and adding to the chaos that Miss Behave and Tiffany so expertly conduct.
It’s amazing just how involved people will get when they’re freed of all inhibitions. The fact that nobody is actually forced to participate only encourages more active participation, and there is a true beauty in looking around the room and seeing people of every gender identity, sexuality, and age – mostly strangers to each other only an hour ago – joining together in joyous and chaotic fun.
Interspersed between crass humour and outright hilarity, the show resonates with an important message; that you will only get what you want if you stand up and demand it, that sitting by doing nothing means you will receive nothing, and that the world might be screwed but if we come together we can make a difference.
No matter who you love, how you identify, or what you do, this is a show that knows no boundaries and therefore doesn’t exclude anyone. If you haven’t screamed yourself hoarse and admitted your deepest secrets out loud by the end of the night, then you did it wrong. Or maybe you did it right. The only rule is that there aren’t any rules after all.
Join the laughs, mayhem, and friendly competition with The Miss Behave Gameshow comes to Arts Centre Melbourne until Sunday 27 January. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com.au.
