Pedro Cooray: Pope Benedict the IX {Melbourne Fringe} – Theatre Review

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Pope! The Holy Father! The Bishop of Rome and the triple threat of being Roman, Supreme and Sovereign Pontiff.

All honorific titles used to refer to the highest position within the Roman Catholic Church (on our plane of existence at least). A position greatly respected and coveted by over a billion Christians worldwide.

What do some people do with this power? Whatever the hell they want! There was Pope Stephen the VI who had his predecessors corpse dug up and put on a mock trial. Leo the X whose rampant spending and corruption led to the Protestant reformation. Or Pope Sergius the III whose time in the throne was marked by violence and scheming as he sought to reinforce his position!

So, you would need to be one God-damned bad Pope for your reign to be considered a particularly low time for the church! Let me introduce Pope Benedict the IX, an 18-year-old vapid, foolish and conniving gay party boy who simply inherited the title of most powerful man in Europe. Not once, not twice but THREE times!

Bringing us this story so insane it has to be true is Pedro Cooray. Actor, comedian, improviser and regular cast member of Channel 10’s hit show ‘Thank God You’re Here‘. He can also be seen as a key player in the award nominated Soothplayers improv comedy troupe. For his first solo show, Pedro takes us for a hilariously ridiculous history lesson featuring sketch comedy, storytelling and a fantastic musical number. Pope Benedict the IX might be “God’s Favourite Boyfriend” but he’s a Pope the church would really prefer to forget about!

Pedro Cooray‘s skills as we’ve seen so far are in improvisation, however ‘Pope Benedict the IX‘ is a much more refined, scripted affair. He still does show his ability whenever something unexpected pops up, managing to stay in character and think on the fly. But the show, as written, is a cataclysmic and hysterical melding of church dogma, pop culture and Cooray‘s fondness for Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs). It is brilliantly satirical and a hell of a lot more informative than one might expect. But as Pedro reminds us often “This really happened, Google it!”.

There are still plenty of gags and neither the show nor Pedro takes themselves too seriously. Mixing papal histories told through contemporary means, the already outrageous story is ramped up to 11. There are comedic skits, perverted confessionals, phone calls and meetings with other cleric “Pope-fuls”, PowerPoint presentations of why we love Benedict the IX but also why we hate him (really, this dude had soooo many orgies). Even roleplay with the audience as two lucky audience members help solve, or perhaps worsen, the Holy Father’s relationship woes!

At one point as Pedro breaks character within the show to explain the ins and outs of Popey-politics, he does so in ways anyone can understand it… with board game metaphors and roadside witches hats, managing to get some of the biggest laughs of the night, even when delivering a exposition dump which is deserving of a full star just in itself.

The show is never overly offensive, provocative or insulting towards religion, which is a fine line in comedy. But Pedro‘s satirical take on 11th century Catholic politics takes no prisoners, yet at the same time, ridicules a hedonistic nepo-baby turned Pope as lampooning the hypocrisy of the aspects of conservative religious beliefs. Pedro Cooray smartly delivers an incredibly witty and thought provoking hour of over the top insane comedy.

An impressive first solo show from Pedro Cooray, he hits the ground running in his papal mitre (that folded Dorito-looking Pope hat thing). I can’t wait to see what this guy comes up with next. One of the most unexpected gems of this year’s Melbourne Fringe and a show which demands to be seen. If only Sunday School was this much fun, I might have learned something!

Pedro Cooray: Pope Benedict the IX is currently playing at at Festival Hub: Trades Hall until the 13th of October.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/pope-benedict-the-ix

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