Tales of young foolishness are comedy gold

Cameron James: Mixtape
Factory Theatre, May 8. Until May 12.
★★★★½

The year is 2009. A young Cameron James is living it up in the suburbs of Newcastle. Not only is he caught up in a freewheeling summer romance with Alex, he has also snagged a starring role at the city’s hottest horror-themed theatre restaurant.

But he soon faces a crossroads. Should he follow his girlfriend when she moves to Sydney? Or is playing Captain Jack Sparrow in a beauty salon turned nightclub too good a “career move” to ignore?

Mixtape, a mix of genre-crossing comedy pop songs and amiable, perfectly judged comic storytelling, tells this chapter of James’ life, with a few entertaining detours. It starts by flashing back to his earlier encounters with Alex at a Blue Light Disco and on MSN Messenger.

As with his award-winning Electric Dreams, James’ latest mines a rich vein of nostalgia and nails the tone in retelling his youthful foolishness with a warmly funny “we’ve all been there” vibe. Despite his apparently thwarted musical ambitions, James is capable on guitar and vocals, creating earworms to flesh out his story, like the Gary Numan-aping new-wave of Speeding Ticket or the swaggering You and I, in which our would-be teen lothario is stymied by the fact his dad has to drive him around on dates.

Eventually, Cameron and Alex’s relationship becomes tied up with the ridiculous goings-on at the “debaucherous, not-quite-legal nightspot”. James teases out every absurd detail of the chaotic scene at the “Koffin” in a tale that takes some wild turns but wraps up satisfyingly (before pivoting to Medium Dick, an R&B slow jam for mediocre lovers everywhere).

Compiled with the same care as a good mixtape, this may be a half-step down from the delirious perfection of Electric Dreams, but it’s still a purely enjoyable hour that’s equal parts romantic and ridiculous.