From being born and raised in Hong Kong and living in the UK, her Filipino Scottish upbringing and unique adoptive family, to coming out as bisexual, and even keeping the youth entertained on a tall ship without the internet, Dom McCusker really has lots of tales to tell.
Dom McCusker’s Be Gae, Do Crime is a breath of fresh air, bringing to the festival circuit the ultimate opportunity to sing sea shanties. Yes, you read that correctly! Dom encourages the audience to sing-along to some fun shanties as she tells tales of her love of life and the sea, with a mix of traditional stand-up. Having known of Dom McCusker for some time from running into her at conventions and hanging out at the festival, I was beyond excited to discover that she now has her very own debut show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Dressed in a pirate themed outfit, Dom opens the show with a lovely solo shanty to the tune of ‘Last Saskatchewan Pirate’. Explaining that when she isn’t working behind a desk as a Marketing Professional, she is a legit qualified sailor, we discover more about Dom’s adventures, from party boats and ‘booze cruises’ to the traditional replica tall ships of the Endeavour and Enterprize. Dom has sailed them all. And while each is just as fun as the next, they all come with their own challenges.
Armed with an easel and some cards displaying lyrics, Dom encouraged the packed Storyville Melbourne theatrette to join in, and we all happily obliged. With no backing tracks, and just the stomping of her foot to keep time, Dom McCusker is a natural on the stage.
Each shanty has two sets of lyrics to form the chorus. At the start of each shanty, Dom sings through the first two lines with some call and response called ‘twosies twosies’. A method where Dom would sing the first two lines, we would it sing back and then finish the chorus off with the last two lines in the same fashion. Not only does Dom put us all at ease, exclaiming it’s not about your ability to sing but having fun and joining in.
Throughout the show, we sing several shanties including but not limited to ‘Be Gay Do Crime’, ‘Modern Day Pirate (Tiny Crime)’, ‘Raise Up Your Tankard’ and ‘Port Phillip Bay’, and each of them is with their own unique tale and fun chorus to sing-along to. Although ‘Be Gay Do Crime’ is created from an existing sea shanty tune, the latter 3 songs mentioned are original melodies created by Dom herself, with all lyrics in the show written by Dom McCusker.
My favourite was a modification of the classic ‘Rattlin Bog’ but instead of branches, trees and holes in the bog, Dom had a bag of plastic cups with different drinks written on them. Titled ‘Here’s to Another Round’, the difference in this ‘Dom-ified’ version, is that the drinks are chosen completely at random, producing a different result every show. A fun memory game mixed into a shanty. Sitting in the front row, I found myself selected to assist in the number, and although I could have easily looked at the cups I picked up, it was just as much fun seeing them chosen at random and try remember with the rest of the audience sequence of the sea shanty we had created together.
If there was one piece of feedback I would give, it would be to try make the lyrics on the cards a little larger. Sitting in the front row, it wasn’t all that hard to read. But I can only imagine those sitting further back that may struggle a bit.
Wholesome and undeniably likable, Dom McCusker is masterful storyteller. I was hanging on every word, captivated from start to end. She also has a lovely singing voice that she showcases acapella and is only accompanied when we join her in song. As a debut show, Be Gae, Do Crime is a fantastic, impressive interactive and joyful musical experience. Each of the shanties of the show are catchy and leave a warm, happy lasting impression. I even found myself humming one of the tunes later that evening on the way home.
Dom McCusker provides a warm comforting space and artfully fills a quiet void with joy and song. If this is what she can bring to the stage in her debut show, I cannot wait to see what Dom McCusker creates next. I’ll even bet my best rum that it will include more shanties! Until then, this is one festival newcomer you don’t want to miss!
Dom McCusker’s Be Gae, Do Crime is on now at the 2025 Melbourne International Comedy Festival at Storyville Melbourne, with weekday sessions from Tuesday to Friday at 5:15pm, and a friendly weekend time of 4:15pm on Saturday and Sunday. The show’s season ends on Sunday April 6.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/be-gae-do-crime
https://www.instagram.com/domccus
Photography supplied.