Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Geraldine Hickey has previously tackled some challenging issues in her stand-up, addressing the fact life has not always been easy for her. Not that doing comedy necessarily helped, certainly in matters financial, given the dire predicament she describes here,  surviving on $8,000 a year – and with a diet as poor as she was – at her lowest ebb.

But, as the title suggests, this is a more optimistic show. She’s got her own house now, a steady job in radio and a girlfriend,  who also owns property. Plus enough free time and money to enjoy such indulgences as bird shows, international theme parks and mushroom-hunting – an activity she can engage in even though she doesn’t even like the fungus. That’s decadence.

She tells of these times with a calm stillness. If you’re used to more animated performance, it may take a few minutes to attune to her relaxed way of doing things, but her low energy subtly pulls the audience into her world.

Hickey is an accomplished storyteller, with evocative descriptions that place the listener right in the heart of the tales.  And while she is content with her relatively modest signifiers of success, occasional flashbacks to less happy times act as an counterpoint.  Reminiscences such as an ill-fated childhood trip to Sydney’s now-demolished Wonderland theme park add bleakly funny notes to the generally optimistic tone.

How anyone sees life is often a matter of perspective, of course, and applying a little theatrical flourish to her droll writing, she spins around some of these tales, revealing that even her contented new life might not always be the picture-perfect version she first made out.  As she reveals moments of absurdity, it’s as if the same tales are told first to impress strangers on Instagram, and then for real mates who’ll empathise with the worst bits.

Things Are Going Well turns out to be a charming and wittily reflective look at her life with stories that resonate and consistently amuse, without needing the bells and whistles of a flashy delivery to sell them hard.

Review date: 7 Apr 2019
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival