This week I saw Aunty Donna’s new live comedy show DREM. This was my second time seeing Aunty Donna live, or third, if we count Broden Kelly’s solo live show that I also saw this year. Aunty Donna is one of my biggest loves. I first discovered them around 2018 and I wasn’t able to see them live on stage until 2022 for a number of reasons. Each time I see them live, it feels like the finale to an era in my life.
Before I went to the show, I thought about what merch I would buy. In 2021, I hadn’t yet bought any merch from Aunty Donna. There was a bundle for a hat, a CD, and some iron-on patches for around $40, but at that time I didn’t have a job, so I couldn’t afford it. I regret that immensely. In the time since, I’ve really wanted an Aunty Donna hat; While I’m not really a hat person as I don’t think I look good in hats, I feel like I’d put aside that insecurity if it represents something I love. Eventually they sold out of hats before I could make up my mind. In 2022, when I went to the last live show, I bought a shirt for $40 and I thought that was expensive, but at this live show, shirt prices went up by 50%. They also did the annoying thing where the cool design is on the back of the shirt and there’s only a little design on the front. I thought to myself, if I don’t 100% love something, I shouldn’t spend $60 on it. So I decided to only get the one item that I really wanted.
DREM was completely new stuff. The last live show, The Magical Dead Cat Tour, was their first show after the Netflix series, and featured a couple of returning characters and reprises of past sketches. This time, it was completely brand new stuff, and I really enjoyed a lot of it.
They had a sketch that centred around Doctor Who, and as a big Aunty Donna and Doctor Who fan, to see that crossover live on stage all of the sudden was so wild. They’ve mentioned Doctor Who a couple of times before, but this time, we literally watched a scene from Doctor Who, and they asked the audience what show it was from. Some people, including me, shouted out, “Doctor Who!” I thought about shouting out the episode title as well, cause I’m a dumb nerd who knows it, but I thought that’d be too specific and might disrupt the show. The sketch then went into even more detail about the specific scene playing, the characters and actors on screen, and the comments on the video. I ascended.
For audience participation, they brought up onto the stage a woman from a few rows behind me. This audience participation bit went on for a while and she was heavily involved for the rest of the sketches in the show. As I sat there, I thought about how I would act if I was up there. At Broden’s solo live show, he interacted with the guy sat directly left of me, who I had spoken to for at least half an hour before the show. I have no idea how I’d act on the spot. Usually, comedians like for you to not try to be funny, because they’ll bring the funny. She did a great job, and as she stayed up there for a good 10 minutes, I thought to myself, I’m glad I’m just watching.
I really enjoyed the show. It’s their last live show for a while, and I can’t wait to see them again.
