Review by Steve Bennett at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

The first of two line-ups in this annual showcase of rising stars of the American circuit offers an eclectic mix, but also one of the more consistently strong bills of recent years.

As always, the comedians are thrown by the more muted responses of a late-evening Australian festival crowd, against their expectations of an up-for-it club audience. But while that had some impact on their comic rhythm, the material more than holds up.

First up is Ryan Hamilton, an affable easy-going comic. Not quite as insane happy as his ‘1950s ice cream salesman‘ features – a rich source of endearing self-parody – suggest, but cheery and upbeat all the same.

Stories of being an Idaho country bumpkin struggling in New York entertain, not least his sheer incredulity at seeing a man smoking crack on the subway, admittedly not an everyday occurrence for even the most hard-bitten city dweller. Hamilton also has probably the best hot-air ballooning chunk you'll hear – a little-contested title, admittedly – which offers a winning mix of sarcastic observation and self-deprecating anecdote.His lively conversational style certainly makes him the perfect opener for this MC-less gig, easing the audience into the night.

Gear change to Emily Heller, a far more cynical voice, depressed about Donald Trump and sharing with us the sort of introspective confessions she might normally with her therapist. Engaging though it is, she's probably the weakest link on a strong night, often more interesting than funny despite the odd wry aside – many of which point out inherent gender inequalities 

Then another shift from Heller’s  self-doubt to the brash energy of Liza Treyger, pictured, with a loud, fast, filthy and flirty romp though her sex life… and the occasional diversion for a Holocaust gag. She, too, delivers some home truths about the hypocrisies of sex and gender, unabashedly turning the tables on alpha-males with an outrageous performance and brutally frank content.

The bawdy set, which can only be described as ballsy, makes some of the audience clam up, mostly from the male half. But for most, her full-on attitude is as irresistible as it is unapologetic – a real blast.

And the tempo changes jet again for the free-flowing Jak Knight, offering youthful energy that’s both laid-back and super-confident, combining a playful performance with some insightful point-scoring. He's a bit of a rascal – a word he likes – teasing the audience about their white privilege and scattering the n-word around liberally.

Making his first ever trip outside America, Knight says he’s not a political comedian, but  Trump drove him to it. That’s a bit disingenuous, for although the relaxed set rarely touches on political figures, his material is often informed by social issues.

Some of it lacks finesse, but the chilled, shooting-the-breeze vibe he brings to potentially provocative material is a winning formula. A comedy natural, this stand-up prodigy is surely set to make some serious waves.

Review date: 6 Apr 2017
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