Type: Drag, Audience Interaction, Character Comedy, Sketch
If you liked: Bill & Ted, Disco is Dead, Superwog
Held in the deep and secretive (and partially still under construction) underbelly of the Motley WhereHaus, are two lads far past their prime. Big Mike and DJ Jay Jay – Michele Owen and Roxie Halley’s drag king personas respectively – are covered in atrocious tattoos and scrappy facial hair. They need your help to replicate Corey Worthington’s partying fame. Hosting the party at his mum’s place, DJ Jay Jay hopes with getting on the news he can launch his yet to begin rap career and Big Mike is sure that, if he looks presentable enough, his ex who broke up with him almost a decade ago will take him back.
Their lack of self-awareness but complete earnestness is what makes the characters absolutely unhinged. Whether it’s showing their bedroom technique, freestyling, or sentimentally keeping less-than-sanitary possessions of an ex, it’s all presented with full masculine bravado and clowning that almost has the space full of laughter from entrance to exit.
Halley’s insecurity-backed gravitas while attempting social recognition is hilarious with (purposefully) disastrous rhymes to match, along with her outrageous portrayal of a secret third character with campy middle-aged horniness. Owen’s physicality is hysterical in and of itself. Every tug of the sweatpants and clumsy pull up of her tank to keep a sharpied tattoo on display had me giggling constantly. The completely baseless confidence and solemnity behind everything Big Mike said truly had me in stitches. Blending seamlessly between planned sketches and improv, Owen and Helley are electric whilst on stage together, tag teaming perfectly between their complimentary character flaws and idiosyncrasies.
The show carefully and successfully toes the line with audience participation, creating enough trust with us that we know that if we were being pulled up in a wig as a sexual opportunity, we are in safe hands. A lot of the jokes are built to allow for a nervous audience, though it is admittedly a far more exciting show if you’re with a daring and confident group of people.
Utilising a specific Australian (often seen as distasteful) brand of masculinity, Halley and Owen intelligently both lean into and subvert it when you least expect them to. You root for them, you laugh at them, and sometimes you can barely believe what they’re getting away with. Don’t expect to have a calm vibe with an occasional chortle, you’re involved in this party too, and you better make it feral!
See our other reviews from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for Beat Boyz: Best House Party Ever at MICF 2026 🎟️
VENUE: Motley WhereHaus, Melbourne
SEASON: 25 March – 5 April 2026
DURATION: 60 mins
RATING: 18+
TICKETS: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/beat-boyz-best-houseparty-ever/
Creatives
Roxie Halley
Michele Owen
