It's the funniest time of the year with the start of the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival this week. We began the evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for
Hannah Gadsby's
Nanette, her latest and reportedly last show at MICF. I've been to many of Hannah's shows over the years, and this was one of the most powerful and brilliant pieces I've seen from her. It's a very brave show that touches on the impacts of homophobia on identity and self-worth, mental health, violence, and fighting through it all to achieve self-acceptance. This is not a show full of laughs but an important personal statement about resilience.
Next up was British comedian
Josie Long in her show
Something Better. Josie is ever the optimist, even while being a lefty progressive during a period of conservative UK governments and Brexit. As someone hitting her mid-thirties she takes joy in the little things like drinking pinot grigio and the youthful effects of wearing a chunky necklace. However, this show mainly focuses on finding inspiration from the underdog and keeping your chin up in the face of nationalistic right-wing movements around the world.
The final show I attended this evening was at the Victoria Hotel and featured four young up and coming UK comedians in the annual
New Order show. First up was
Brennan Reece, who spent most of his set chatting with a few members of the crowd getting to know a bit about their lives. Next was
Ahir Shah, who had a fast-paced set around social and political issues such as colonisation and Brexit. The third act
Emma Sidi was the highlight of the four as she performed completely in character as a scorned woman confronting her cheating boyfriend and sister, with the whole set spoken entirely in broken Spanish. The last act of the night was
Steve Bugeja, who played up his geeky and awkward nature in anecdotes about his life.
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