Mad C*nts - a debut hour about friendship, womanhood and the internet! // Melbourne International Comedy Festival Review

Photo Credit - Nick Robertson

On another typical frigid Melbourne evening this March, I made the journey up to the Improv Conspiracy to watch the MICF debut show of M*d Cunts. The immediate atmosphere in the bar/waiting room was inviting and friendly, despite the notable temperature rise upon entering. The overwhelming feeling was that I was in a room filled with family and friends of the performers coming out to support a loved one; it felt like I had entered a community I’d not before discovered.

Mad C*nts are a comedy duo composed of two venue-regulars Madi Chetcuti and Maddison Verduci. Practised improvisational performers, and more distinctly, two good friends – from what I read before attending the show, their friendship seems to be a core topical throughline for the pair, with both real-life experiences used as fodder for their comedy as well as creative freestyle-feeling routines, (no doubt as a byproduct of their years practising at the Improv Conspiracy).

When the call for entry into the theatre was made, I made my way into the cozy room and took my seat. After a brief stint of quiet chatter across the seats, the lights dimmed and the show began. Starting off with an immediate bang, the audience was introduced to our two comedians of the night, Maddison and Madi – the eponymous Mad C*nts. Diving into a routine of their friendship’s history, we’re given both some backstory, and some highlighted juxtapositions between the comedy duo. Their chemistry was immediately displayed through their back and forth, quickly acclimating the eager audience to the style of high-octane comedy they will be witnessing for the remainder of the evening.

Photo Credit - Alex Winner

A frequent callback throughout the show is the generational gap between both Madis, showcased throughout the show via Millennial/Gen Z comparisons and of-the-era references. This bit worked with the live crowd as these two generations made up the majority of the audience. You could feel the engagement increase as the acknowledgment of real-life scenarios and generational differences felt familiar. These generational references were very much a mainstay of this live show. Hitting on technological differences and popular culture.

Across the span of the hour-long show the audience were treated to a fast-paced, chaotically swinging and playfully dramatized showcase of female friendship in the modern era. Mad C*nts employed a small but effective selection of well-executed audio-visual components, such as a screen-projected text exchange surrounding (alongside other absurdist humour tangents) a haircut debacle that involved selected audience members playing the roles of both Madis.

The vibe of the night was very much one of platonic intimacy. The brisk, hard-hitting line delivery and improvised feel of certain segments left a somewhat bewildering aftershock but for the most part, the Mad C*nts duo managed to pull together an enjoyable satirical look at their friendship and the contributing factors behind it.

Altogether, I felt that the show was a pleasant and funny tongue-in-cheek retrospective that showed good potential from both performers, and I left the venue with a curiosity to follow their future endeavours in the comedy world.