Carl Donnelly shouldn't be allowed in Australia due to his act. That was, he quips in his latest superb show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Glow Up, the worst review he could ever receive. Lucky then, it only came from his mother-in-law.
Now 42-years-old, Glow Up is a response to his show last year at Comedy Festival, where he dealt with the death of his father (and “fuck doing that again”) so this year, we get to see Donnelly at his most delightfully insincere, as he tackles the age-old issues of cost-of-living, hair-removal cream and fantasies of kicking toddlers at stations.
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Hence, Glow Up – a series of tales about growing up ungracefully but with a smile throughout.
Middle-aged issues are a well-worn path for stand-up comedians. They’re instantly relatable and inherently funny, so finding new ground to tread is a very difficult task. But Donnelly’s exceptionally experienced and knows exactly how to toe that invisible line, he never grosses an audience out or offends them, but you’re always a little surprised at the punchlines and the place he takes you to.
Perhaps the greatest sign of his experience on the comedy circuit is that he’s clearly constantly avoiding cheap punchlines throughout. Standard comedic misdirection – the one-two punch of stand-up – is elicited only rarely and always with an overtly sarcastic smile. Sure it gets laughs, but an audience always wants something greater from a comedian in the modern era and Donnelly provides in spades.
He’s feeling great, he’s looking suave, and it shows. You can expect well-refined, positive jokes about imminently relatable topics executed perfectly by an affable host without an ounce of pretension or self-indulgence.
What’s more, they’ll stick in your head and subtly influence the way you think about your own life. What more could you want than that?
Catch Carl Donnelly’s Glow Up at The Victoria Hotel Boardroom until April 21.
