Review by Steve Bennett at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

It’s a bit late for a coming-of-age story, but at 33 Nath Valvo is finally realising he might be an adult… and is not entirely happy with the fact. 

These are the themes many an arrested-development comedian will talk about, losing friends to parenthood and trying to drown out the calls to seek some sort of financial security.

It means Valvo finds himself in a generational limbo, slipping down his mother’s priority list as she embraces retirement, and with no kids of his own. Yet surely he doesn’t need to be responsible when Uber Eats will sort out the cooking, Australia’s backwards laws mean marriage to long-term boyfriend Cody can't immediately be on the cards, and he can still party, right? Right?

Though the subjects of Not In My House are familiar, Valvo’s selling point is his attitude: a cheery intolerance to anything that might affect his carefree status quo. That could be the big issue like children or just the grudging responsibility to go to one of Cody’s things – a prospect he greets with the sullen harrumph of a teenager.

In sounds contradictory, but he’s both self-centred and self-effacing, acknowledging that he’s punching above his weight in his relationship. Talking of contradictory, the hour bounces along on a bubble of happy grumpiness as he breathes vitality into his largely first-world grumbles.

The Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer nominee touches lightly on topics such as marriage equality, and sometimes gets a bit naughty – but Valvo has the impish charm to ensure it’s always more cheeky than filthy.  His pace is lively, the delivery seamless and the content fully relatable, even if you’re not of his demographic (though they, clearly are the target audience).

What there isn’t, really, is too many killer lines or routines that transcend the effervescent conversational style to lodge in the memory. The endearing Valvo always guarantees a good time but that doesn’t quite tip over into a great time.

But even if he doesn’t make the ‘must-see’ list, he’s thoroughly entertaining in what he does.

Review date: 18 Apr 2017
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