Matt Okine can superbly connect with an audience on trivial issues, such as his girlfriend leaving used cups everywhere around his apartment. He can brilliantly reveal to us the humour and frustration in the most subtle gripes. But in Happiness Not Included, Okine takes that next step and courageously opens up about his private life: his hilarious encounters with the law and sincere reflection upon his puerile mistakes in early adulthood.
Okine’s conversational storytelling style allures the audience into believing you’re personally hearing Okine one-on-one rather than as a crowd. His honest material gels with this style to give you the impression that he’s telling a secret. When he speaks of his starring role in a McDonald’s commercial, and subsequent arrest, and, well, ‘downfall’, you feel like his candidness has made you personally bond with him. This creates a very intimate atmosphere. For a comedian still in his 20s, it’s an incredible skill to have.
One of the rare flaws of the show was Okine’s slow, shoegazing start. He seemingly stared into nothingness and stuttered through the opening minute or so. It was as if he heard bad news moments before the show. He quickly recovered his trademark ebullience – it was probably tiredness from a week’s worth of stand-up and 4.30am starts for triple j every morning – and the fact that a bizarre opening minute is a ‘flaw’ says a lot about how polished and endearing Okine is as a performer.
Is Happiness Not Included as strong as his Best Newcomer show in previous years? Well that show was built with eight years’ worth of material; this show upon a single year. It may not be his ‘best’ show in terms of uncontrollable laughter, but it’s not far from it. Okine’s prime is still ahead of him, and considering the high quality of his current output, it’s an exciting time for a comedian who’s joining Wil Anderson and the like at the vanguard of Australian comedy.
BY NICK TARAS
