Pokèlesque

Click here if you liked this article 2

https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/pokelesque

Date Reviewed: 26/02/2026

Pokèlesque

A Super Effective Show!

Polished and professional from start to finish, Pokèlesque delivers a slick production that still retains a funny and abstract edge.

It is a show that invites you to laugh, to be charmed, and ultimately to be won over by the sincerity at its core. Geek Out! Nerdlesque has cultivated a company of passionate performers who clearly understand their audience and create work with them in mind. While there were a handful of in-jokes and surprise characters that passed me by, the excitement in the theatre made it easy to appreciate their impact.

The audience appears to be a small but passionate group of supporters of this production company. They browsed merchandise with enthusiasm, cheered favourite performers, took photos, chatted with the cast, and reacted with infectious energy. Their presence did not simply accompany the performance; it shaped it. The show felt accessible in a way that other theatres just aren't nowadays. The interactive elements, including inviting the audience to choose character names and starter creatures, were cleverly executed. It built a wonderful atmosphere of camaraderie that you don’t get at some of the bigger or headline shows.

Blending burlesque, comedy, and parody is no easy task. Each genre carries expectations, and leaning too heavily in one direction risks alienating part of the audience. Audiences attend with different things in mind. Dividing your audience by not doing one particularly well can be problematic for intimate shows like this. The opening a cappella number immediately set a relaxed and playful tone, easing the audience into the world of the show. The drag elements also worked well considering this is a parody of a video game. Every individual performer did such a marvellous job, but I suppose a highlight for me would have to be the twin characters of The Mum (Sy Quinn) and Mr. Mime (Rasputin). Both performers did a fantastic job while also maintaining the core elements of burlesque and drag.

At first glance, the hyper-specific focus on Pokémon, referred to throughout as pocket monsters, may give some the impression that the material is niche. The whole production has a narrative broken up with individual burlesque performances and clever, often witty comedy.

The show’s set design was simple yet effective, supporting the action without distraction. Credit must also go to the backstage team whose work maintained the chaos on the stage expertly. Particular praise is due to writer, director, and producer Rosie Roulette, who not only delivered on stage but was evidently instrumental in shaping the production behind the scenes.

Production companies like Geek Out! Nerdlesque should be applauded till hands bleed, for their ability to put small shows like this onto passionate audiences desperate to see their content and interest reflected onstage in intriguing and fascinating ways.

Reviewed by Nicolas Van Der Haar