What happens when the director of your comedy show is a pool noodle and he goes missing in the space-time continuum? It’s not a question I ever imagined asking myself, but Red Noodle Blue does just that and somehow, even more?

Paul the red pool noodle, being crushed under the pressure of his strenuous PhD in Bioethics, is undergoing an identity crisis: he no longer wants to be red, but blue. To rescue their friend from his own self-doubt, Jacob and Jack (Unimelb alumni Jacob Sacher and Jack McGorlick) embark on a wild adventure which moves seamlessly between renaissance Italy, 1939 Germany, the present day and more. On the way, they will encounter the fragility of time-travel, meet their match in the form of two particularly thirsty Brunswick theatre performers and hurl constant abuse at their tech-guy Sandro, lover of Sunbury, 7-11 and the underground rap scene.

And yes; it is just as wonderful as it sounds.

For my first comedy experience, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Despite their younger(er) ages, Sacher and McGorlick are clearly experienced performers. Their stage presence is immediately natural, always hilarious and never overdone. Whether the pair are exploring the awkward or the bizarre; from bumping around in a cardboard time machine to employing their sauciest flirting techniques on Sandro, the audience is forced to balance complete enrapturement while trying not to fall from their chairs in snorting laughter.

I said to my friend before the show that I hoped the stereotype of comedians calling out audience members wasn’t true. Naturally I found out first-hand that it is. Expecting to be plummeted back to my cringey improv performance in Grade 8 Drama, I was pleasantly surprised. Never fear, my fellow awkward people! If Sacher and McGorlick call you up, you can rest assured that they’re just as comfortable not following a script as they are with one. Their relationship with the audience is easy-going and established from the get-go, and for me the mood was only heightened by the intimacy of the historic Tasma Terrace venue.

So, whether you’re a novice or a veteran of the Melbourne comedy scene, I couldn’t recommend Red Noodle Blue enough. For these two, time machines and pool noodles are clearly just the beginning.