Ripper, Donna!

Sketch group Aunty Donna have been releasing episodes of their new web series Ripper Aussie Summer every Friday for the past seven weeks, and it’s quite good. The trio play various characters, gathered together in a backyard for a barbecue, except, this being Aunty Donna, this backyard is very much its own universe.

One of the things we’ve always liked about Aunty Donna is that they’re good at both capturing typical Aussie characters and at making sketches which are just plain silly. In the first Ripper Aussie Summer sketch, What Did You Do Last Night?, Zach’s description of (well, song about) his night of drinking is so ridiculous you can’t believe he’s still here. Then Lee de Paauw came along and we realised this is basically a documentary (in song form).

Then there’s Waving, a surreal and bizarre sketch about taking friendliness too far. If you don’t mind that the payoff is one that could only happen in the universe of Aunty Donna’s ripper backyard, it’s a good one.

Then there’s Afternoon Sillies, a gleeful piece of ridiculousness that will delight anyone who remembers the childlike comedy stylings of people like The Goodies.

It’s also worth dipping into the Aunty Donna back catalogue and checking out one of their other web series, 1999. Ever wondered what would have happened if the office you worked in had gone a bit Lord of the Flies one day?

We also enjoyed the musical theatre vibe of Being Bigoted in the Workplace…

…and the escalation that happens in this sketch when the trio indulge in some marching powder.

Like we’ve said before, this is good stuff, and it’s a massive shame that Aunty Donna have never been given their own TV series. But on the other hand, when the trio can make and release high-quality comedy online, find a big audience and not have executives tell them what to do, well, everyone’s a winner!