It started on a promising note with asides such as how many feral cats can be fitted into a cubic metre while lollipops were lobbed into an audience of friendly faces. We were encouraged to put a topic for a five-minute lecture into a draw.
However, being "overqualified" and possessing sufficient certificates to cover a bedroom wall does not necessarily bestow a level of wit to crack a belly laugh.
Sisters Joelle and Hana revealed their award-winning lecture skills and produced credibly informative lectures. They have almost mastered PowerPoint, prop management and marker pens, but it was their winning smiles and friendly demeanours which saved the evening.
However, Overqualified did not succeed as improvisational theatre or as stand-up comedy: both arts demand a dramatic plot or theme which develops, climaxes and resolves in a way which holds audience attention.
Engineering and geography, with a detour through law, does have comedic possibilities if they are worked at, critiqued, and given some direction by people who recognise the performing arts demand commitment.
Without a storyline to assist that exploration, Overqualified was doomed to succeed only as a late-night dormitory prank.
Hana and Joelle may be at the beginning of a theatrical adventure — they obviously enjoy having a bit of fun. Being overqualified has awarded them a career path in sciences. The title implies a plethora of certificates has led them into a career outside their expertise, as cleaners for example, a real life and bathetic dilemma.
No five-minute lectures were drawn out of the box.
