Review by Steve Bennett

Ohmigod Joel Creasey is like *so* camp, I mean he is *such* a bitch and just rags on everyone, y’know, he’s like *so* full of gossip I was like HELLO!, don’t be so mean, girlfriend, I mean: WTF, people…

Repeat such breathless banter for the best part of an hour and you’ll have a good idea of the speed and the tone of 19-year-old Creasey’s debut Melbourne show.

He has certainly marketed his brand of outrageous tittle-tattle well. This is, indeed, very much like a teenage girl’s slumber party; not just because you get to munch on free popcorn and play pass-the-parcel – but because it’s all about the judgemental yet vacuous small-talk.

Creasey has the attitude and patter down to a T, while the pace of the delivery, which seems to involve no more than four full stops throughout the show’s entire duration, is mesmerising. However, he’s not exactly challenging gay stereotypes as a lover of musicals, shiny pop stars – and bitching. Sometimes it takes no more than calling someone a ‘random slut who’s been round the block’ or a ‘dumb fucking whore’ to get whoops of approval, which can hardly be classed as comedy, or indeed admirable.

His material is often so superficial, it’s hard to get absorbed. Yes, his home town of Perth is backwards, and, yes, Frankstone is full of bogan crooks – we’ve all heard the stereotypes. And some of his tales will only really resonate with avid devourers of celebrity magazines, of which, admittedly, there are legion.

Yet Creasey has a strong streak of likeabilty, which is hugely forgiving, and a raft of entertaining tales to go alongside the more straightforward abuse. He tells a self-deprecating story of his embarrassing behaviour the Year 12 Ball – again in keeping with the subjects worthy of a slumber party – and regales us with tales of what happened when he met celebs from Lady Gaga to Condoleeza Rice, usually as part of his old job with a Perth radio station.

As a debutant, he’s certainly imposed his compelling personality on the stand-up world, but we may have to wait a while yet to see exactly what he does with it.

Review date: 16 Apr 2010
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett