Steele Saunders's show “Bitter Sweet” was the third show I saw on Saturday night. It was in Fort Delta, an art gallery space in the Capital Theatre or Capitol Arcade depending on which name and which map you happen to be looking at.
Fort Delta is one of those odd spaces I think that older buildings end up with through the passage of time and modernisation. Or it could be a space that always existed and was an old space that was used as a speakeasy or perhaps below stairs bar.
Basically it's an odd space, but the actual performance area wasn't that bad. The waiting area, which I won't call a foyer because it wasn’t. It was a waiting room with stark white walls that was obviously a gallery space. And it probably works well as that sort of space. But it didn't for a waiting area for a comedy show. It made me feel like everything was being analysed, like the room was sort of turning in on itself in a meta-textual form of spatial judgement. But then I do internalise a lot so maybe I was the only one who felt this.
Steele's show "Bitter Sweet" brought a few cat lovers, people who seemingly saw the cat picture on Steele's poster and didn't read the description of the show.
It is about cats, in particularly Steele's cat Jerry the Persian and his relationship with Jerry when his fiancé Jacqueline goes over to America for 2 years while he remains in Melbourne.
There were still a few kinks, Steele admitted when doing his show, but nothing that really detracts from his performance.
I really enjoyed "Bitter Sweet", I had heard one of the stories that features in his show before. Steele had related it to some fellow comedians on his podcast I Love Green Guide Letters. I found it funny then, and now that Steele tells it in his show it's still funny in a more polished way. In its most basic form it’s a hotel cat caper story with some interesting revelations. It’s probably even more funny to cat owners of which I am not, although I am a cat fan.
The rest of his standup show basically forms around his time spend with Jerry the Persian and then going over to see his fiancé in America and a few interesting stories that occurred while he was over there.
I think as the festival goes on Steele will only improve this show, which is already a very well paced show, full of humour and with the story of his life in the past year intermixed with some random observations here and there.