“Have you ever taken out a piece of paper, sat for five minutes, written down every single thought that comes into your mind, and realised you really are a wacked out, crazy individual? Well, welcome to Tim Minchin’s comedy/cabaret, Navel: Cerebral Melodies with Umbilical Chords. Nothing is sacred. Minchin takes the piss out of everything from Brazilian waxing, himself and sex, to religion, rich geezers and the Fringe Festival. The show is comprised of short skits and songs that have absolutely no relevance to each other or anything that Minchin talks about. But this is all part of the fun. Minchin’s deadpan demeanour and wacky facial expressions are the perfect foil for his cleverly written songs full of inane poetry and irony. The fact he sings and talks at a hundred miles per hour adds to the mayhem of the show. Navel rarely falls flat. Highlights include his piss-take of serious rockers in I Can Have A Dark Side Too, the Anger Management sketch and Inflatable You, which, as the name suggests, is a song all about his inflatable playmate. Minchin’s use of words is also quite amazing. He is able to rhyme in almost all his songs, and if words don’t rhyme he makes them up, which is again idiotically funny. Plus, Navel being the ironic cabaret it is, double entendres pop up everywhere, especially in Inflatable You where he begs “don’t let me downâ€. Navel never takes itself seriously and the only hint of depth in the show comes from the sounds of the double bass. But it’s still a show that requires concentration as Minchin’s train of thoughts jump suddenly from one topic to another. So, if you go to the bar to get a drink during the show, when you come back, you might find yourself completely lost for the next two minutes, wondering why everyone else is laughing.â€
(Buzz Cuts)