She’s a talented performer who can rescue a joke with the pull of a face. There’s little doubt about that. Her commanding delivery is the result of years of experience onstage, yet she maintains this cute, affable nature. It’s hard not to be charmed by her persona and her fun, glittery presentation.
I really wish I could’ve written a good review for this. She seems so lovely. But this is just not my thing. Others, such as Crikey and The Herald Sun, apparently enjoyed it, so I must emphasis that just because her humour was stale to me, it did seem that others got a kick out of it.
I’ve seen 115 shows so far this year at MICF, and while some say this gives me an authority of judgment, it’s actually the opposite. A show has to be really great to impress me this year, so I envy those that could enjoy this. I sound so fucking depressed – ‘omg I wish could feel something’ – but if I had only seen a few shows this festival, I could judge this on its own individual merit. However, in comparison to other shows, this was quite average.
Foreshadowed by the title, the show is largely based around familial stories and the contrast between her upbringing and her parents’. I loved the unrestrained honesty of her material, and the physical delivery of her comedy is excellent. Her spoken word poetry, set to the haunting ticking of a metronome, was often powerful and spine-tingling. There are some interesting characters touched on throughout the story, and this provided a somewhat entertaining show. Unfortunately, this didn’t make it a funny show. I laughed hardest when she tried to save a joke. For example, following an excessively crass joke, she pulled out a hilarious drawing to distract from the gag. The image was hysterical, but it’s not enough to rely on the audio-visual cues that complement the stories to get laughs when your anecdotes themselves are flat.
I enjoyed the theatricality of the show. There are pop culture references, quirky getups, and glitter. A consequence of this, though, is that the show depends on qualities such as these for a laugh, and it all just feels forced.
BY NICK TARAS
