Making her Australian solo debut, Canadian Mae Martin has made herself right at home. From playing soccer in our parks to kicking goals on stage, the charming comedian is sure to be welcomed back to Melbourne at anytime.
A show that tackles themes including sexuality, identity and loneliness, Us is part comedy, part TED Talk – a combination that should appear more often in stand-up. While Mae’s main goal is clearly to entertain, by using her time on stage to share her ideals and challenge predispositions that people adhere to, she creates a widely amusing, yet extremely emotive experience for her audience. With brilliant wit and undeniable charisma, Mae Martin is much more than a class clown telling jokes, she is an individual with a voice, using humour as an avenue to project it in a universal manner.
A major component of Mae’s show are stories about her parents, Wendy and James, whose rather offbeat parenting style allowed her to grow up in a non-judgemental, forward-thinking household. Telling the tales of her father’s casual nudity or her mother’s dramatic reaction to her leaving home, it seems only natural that her comedic content would stem straight from her liberal upbringing. From an incident with a huge penis to Goddess Club, the stories will have you wishing you had been around to witness it all.
Discussing her break-up with Ian Peach in Grade Nine and more recently, her long-term girlfriend, Mae’s innate ability to transform trauma into laughter is unmatched. Believing sexuality is fluid, not segmented; the witty performer shared her five ‘must haves’ for her next suitor. From a saucy minx wink to the perfectly delicate dive, the list is gender neutral, making it all the more fun for everyone. Speaking of her friend’s confusion when she spoke about potentially dating men, it’s clear that Mae believes labels such as ‘Gay Mae’ are inappropriate and unnecessary, even if they do create a catchy rhyme.
One of the most entertaining parts of the evening occurred when a few latecomers slipped silently into the dark room, refusing to reply to the performer as she politely greeted them. Unable to continue, the confused and utterly charming comic turned up the house lights, checking that they were okay and that they were not in fact, ghosts. As we were all falling in love with her adorable mannerisms, it only took a one worded question for the entire room to feel at home – “Guys?”
Closing her show a little late, Mae shared with us a story in which she had been subject to verbal abuse because of her appearance and sexual preference. Encouraging us to support those in the LGBTQ community, she reminded us that we are all a little gay.
By Phoebe Robertson
