Alf Alpha's Cocktail Hour

Review by Ethan Gallagher

Alf Alpha's Cocktail Hour was so many things that I enjoy: bright, silly, hilarious and very boozy. After being seated in a small, intimate room at Grouse Melbourne, and observing the vintage bar cart and collection of different brightly coloured bottles in front of us, Alf burst into the room with an unrelenting energy that kept the audience thoroughly entertained, and a delightfully garish get-up that reminded me of a mix between an Oompa Loompa and the Monopoly man.

After being introduced to our host for the evening, Alf launched into a fast paced routine, perfectly warming up the audience and getting them laughing from minute one. I was impressed with Alf’s ability to bring the audience into the performance, trawling through the rows of chairs like a poorly camouflaged tiger, pressing and prodding the audience for reactions to his antics in a way that never felt cloying or desperate.

I was already having a good time hanging out with Alf, but I started having a great time when the booze started flowing. Alf’s experience working in Melbourne queer bars gives them a level of expertise in cocktail making that was incredibly fun to watch, as well as giving him insight into Melbourne dwindling but crucial queer spaces. Alf’s repertoire of cocktails, combined with their signature style of hilarious stories and musings coalesced into a completely enthralling experience for the audience. 

Somehow in a show about booze and the art of cocktail making, both subjects I am a big fan of, my favourite part of the show came when Alf launched into a lip sync routine of Mark Ribillet’s ‘Girl’s Club’ which had me dying laughing. Alf’s ability to interweave hilarious bits, skilful bartending and genuine and sincere discourse about the vitality of queer spaces came together to form an incredible hour of raconteur-like showmanship, and cemented me as an Alf Alpha fan for life.