REVIEW: How the King Learned to Live Forever - Pummel Squad
- Natasha Dyson
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
“This is art for art’s sake. It is important.”
How the King Learned to Live Forever is an untraditional pantomime imbued with the wit and wildness of a team letting their sillies out. The show marks Pummel Squad’s third annual end-of-year pantomime, and also marks my introduction to their work. I had no idea the ride I was in for.
The team at Pummel Squad promised joy, and delivered in spades. Our audience openly guffawed and gasped throughout HTKLTLF’s outrageous, calculated dialogue. The cast, driven by our writers as the three royal advisers (Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta, Harry McGee and Cooper Donald McDonald) executed every energy shift in this fast-paced show with cheekiness (literally) and ease. Molly Hollohan and Sam Buckley’s flamboyant royals perfectly juxtaposed Damon Baudin’s Death. I found I was excited by any member of the leading cast entering the stage, their unique comedy instincts landing every possible gag.
It feels like a strange task critiquing a show designed to be imperfect. The nature of slapstick and physical comedy made it impossible to decipher deliberate fumbles from flaws. I thoroughly enjoyed the craft-project costumes, and cast members counting to time their bows. Elements such as John Collopy’s lighting design were especially slick, making it obvious that this was a production made of professionals having lots of fun.
I’ve always found pantomimes fascinating in their shamelessness. It feels so refreshing to be released from the expectation to take everything seriously. Is there a moral to this story? Does there need to be? “Our collective fear of death” is a hard prompt to provide answers for, and this ensemble understands that answers aren’t really the point, after all.
I’m impressed by what a stroke of genius presenting a yearly pantomime is for a company trying out new material. There is no better means of testing genres, comedy styles, pacing etc. than an audience bracing for the unexpected.
How the King Learned to Live Forever is brimming with tropes and references which make the show accessible and funny to all (adult) ages. It felt like if your bogan mates tried to reenact Monty Python. I encourage anyone who’s trying to find presence in their silly season to go have a romp and a laugh witnessing other humans satirise being alive (mostly).
Death will inevitably find us all, and would we really want it any other way?
Read more about the show here
