Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett

No complaints under trades description for Gabe Hogan’s show. She’s a witty effervescent presence, exuding the air of a gregarious friend sharing intimacies over a few too many glasses of chardonnay. Indeed, she has a bottle on stage as a prop – in both senses of the word.

She self-effacingly portrays herself as more than a little ditzy. ‘I’ve had a lot of head injuries,’ she says as a bluntly funny set-up. And she’s always late for everything, from her dad’s funeral,  to realising she was gay, at the age of 36.

That’s the crux of her hour, and she chats engagingly about being a bad lesbian, about her faulty gaydar – arguing if she didn’t know she was queer what hope of spotting it in others –  the lack of family drama surrounding her coming out, or how she forsook her sexuality when on stage in front of full of braying footie fans.

But although she’s an engaging performer, none of the writing amounts to a great deal, with resounding punchlines thin on the ground, especially if you don’t count the tired trope of pretending the microphone is a penis. 

Despite having a story to tell, the 50 minutes has little sense of purpose and ends with more of a whimper than a bang.  So it’s a surprise when she thanks a director as she wraps up, for it seems such a loose collection of anecdotes. 

Pretty, Witty And Gabe is a solid showcase for Hogan as an affable personality who can hold an audience’s attention, but she could certainly do with gearing up the gags.

Review date: 10 Apr 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival