Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Always be wary of comedians who explicitly tell you ‘what this show’s about’ early in their hour, for subtext is not their friend.

That’s what Leigh Qurban does, setting out his premise is that we can’t all follow our dreams, else nothing would get done. Yet stand-up is his dream, and Good Effort is a collection of stories about his dead-end call centre job, the indignities of share-house living and the miserable gigs he has endured towards making that a reality.

However, there’s nothing particularly special about any of the stories, from contrasting what TV chefs prepare with the limited options in his fridge, to blowing money he doesn’t have on drunken nights out, to grumbles about the cost of friends’ extravagant weddings. All standard fare for a man turning 30 in the unlucrative world of the arts.

He's competent in telling these stories, as he’s a personable chap who engages his audience, but displays no gift for revealing anything unexpected about familiar experiences, nor for pepping up the anecdotes with strong punchlines.

His cornerstone routine revolves around playing a drug-sodden drum-and-bass festival, describing a range of wrecked youngsters and his desperate quest to get something as innocuous as a beer, likening his labours to an attempt to score far more illicit drugs. But once the parallel is established, we know exactly where he’s going, however well he regales it. And this is his best bit.

As well as the stand-up he indulges in some character work, adopting the brash alter-ego of the motivational speaker – that most commonly adopted of personas – and some uninspired audience interaction, dragging some poor sap on stage to put in an embarrassing situation.

It’s nor a bad hour, but it’s a largely forgettable one, with superficial anecdotes that reveal little about Qurban or the wider world, and aren’t funny enough for that not to matter. A Good Effort, then, but not quite good enough.

Review date: 31 Mar 2019
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival