Burger King Illuminati: Welcome to the PARTY felt like my most awkward social encounters wrapped into a burger. I was bewildered for the first ten minutes, then once I stopped trying to understand what the hell was going on, laughed to the point of hooting my head off.
The comedy sketches were connected less by plot and more by the common appearance of four guys Jacob Henegan, Bruno Dubosarsky, Liam Scarratt and Daniel Scarratt. Taking the audience through various imaginary settings, from Harry Potter’s precarious Gringotts minecarts (why aren’t there ATMs instead!) to IGA’s dreaded aisle, these boys never took themselves too seriously, and that was part of their appeal. They weren’t afraid to tell lame jokes and food puns. They made fun of high production value.
Here lies the beauty of Burger King Illuminati – it took the piss out of its own status as a ‘profitable’ show, and went as far as testing the limits of theatre. Theatrical performance became a movie, for instance, when Liam and Daniel brilliantly pulled off an 80s rom-com freeze frame ending. The length of time in which they could stand as still as statues while high-fiving was truly impressive.
The action also sycned beautifully with music in a manner only possible thanks to extensive rehearsal. Never before had I seen a clown trip as elegantly to the sounds of breaking dentist equipment as Jacob did in the opening ‘improv’ sketch. Indeed, the acting overall showed that these were seasoned sketch comedians. Lines were delivered well (although there were a few understandable stumbles), and in a special mention, Bruno had his accents – ranging from a Gringotts goblin’s to a twenty-year-old, rock-loving caveman’s – perfected.
However, the show’s focus was sometimes lost in its own chaos, and as such, I missed a few punchlines. For instance, I couldn’t comprehend the purpose of Soylent Jim. Much of the show’s promotion emphasised Soylent Jim as the ‘best sketch of all time’, yet I found him far less enjoyable than the other sketches. Perhaps anticlimax was the point? I was confused. I still am, on the morning after.
Burger King Illuminati didn’t try to change you. I walked into a dimly-lit, black-curtained room not knowing what to expect, and walked out feeling like I’d just had a few drinks and laughs with a bunch of newly-made friends.
