Lt Love Dr’s Boot Camp for Lonely People Like You ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Meet Lt Love Dr Hotty McTotty – a futuristic soldier who has travelled back in time from 2075. Her mission: to revive human connection. Through a series of drills including: small talk, eye contact and speed dating, audiences will rally together to combat our increasingly isolated reality.”

The direction makes good use of the space and adds to the show's seemingly chaotic nature. The individual segments are well structured, and there is a good understanding of how to keep an audience involved, particularly when volunteers are brought into the action.

LX is quite nice, although I wanted slightly more variety. The lighting does its job, but there are opportunities for it to become part of the comedy that aren’t always taken. For example, when volunteers are sent off on dates, a romantic lighting state could have been a wonderfully simple visual gag. What is there works well; I just wanted the production to push it a little further.

And then there is the costume. It is completely appropriate for Hotty McTotty’s futuristic-soldier persona and add another layer to the character without needing to explain anything. They also become part of the visual comedy, because apparently if you are travelling back from 2075 to save humanity, the first thing you need is somewhere to put absolutely everything.

The book is okay. Some parts work better than others, but overall there is a solid foundation here. Much of the show is built around games and audience participation, meaning that a certain level of unpredictability is unavoidable. In some ways, that is precisely what makes it fun. Every audience is going to respond differently, every volunteer is going to behave differently, and some of the funniest moments are the ones that clearly couldn’t have been completely planned.

The writing is good, particularly when it lets the character of Hotty McTotty shine through. The main issue is that the show occasionally relies so heavily on the audience to generate the material that the comedy's consistency can vary from performance to performance. That said, the central idea is strong. Beneath the jokes about dating, eye contact, and social awkwardness is a surprisingly sincere message about how disconnected we have become.

Chloe Matonis's performance is quite good. She creates a distinctive character, and I particularly loved the voice and mannerisms. Hotty McTotty has a clear physicality, and Matonis commits completely to the character’s bizarre combination of military authority, romantic optimism, and futuristic desperation. She is also particularly good at working with the audience. Given how much of the show depends on interaction, that is essential, and she handles volunteers with warmth rather than making them feel like targets.

But there is a lovely sincerity to the performance, and it is clear that Matonis genuinely believes in the message behind the madness. I would have liked more build-up in certain sections. There are moments where the character could be allowed to breathe a little before the next exercise or joke arrives, giving us more opportunity to understand who Hotty McTotty actually is beneath the uniform and the very enthusiastic mission briefing.

Lt Love Dr’s Boot Camp for Lonely People Like You is a fun, silly and surprisingly warm piece of interactive comedy. It does exactly what it sets out to do: it gets strangers talking to one another, makes an audience participate and reminds us that perhaps putting the phone down and actually looking at another human being isn’t such a terrible idea. It doesn’t always hit every comedic beat, and I think the production could benefit from a little more theatrical variety and a stronger sense of build throughout. But when the audience gets involved, the show comes alive.

Lt Love Dr’s Boot Camp for Lonely People Like You plays at the saloon bar at Just the Tonic at Westside Rodeo from the 6–30th August at 6:40 pm and runs for approximately 50 minutes. Book tickets for Lt Love Dr’s Boot Camp for Lonely People Like You: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lt-love-dr-s-boot-camp-for-lonely-people-like-you