Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

These two facts may be related, but festival newcomer Nina Oyama is something of a personal screw-up – and a natural at comedy.

Her debut acknowledges her bad behaviour, from the five driving suspensions in five years that gives the show its through line, to her history with drugs. Her theatre degree put her in some more odd situations due to her tutors’ insistence the class stage guerrilla performances in the local pub, whether the regulars wanted it or not, while she shares many an aspiring stand-up’s experience of poverty – but with her penury writ larger than most.

You could easily see Needs A Lift as some sort of cleansing confession to get her past misdeeds off her chest now her life’s has turned a corner, with the help of TV breaks in Utopia and Tonightly, and the largesse of fellow comic Kitty Flanagan.

Her past certainly means she is not wanting for stories – you can add a gaslighting boyfriend and experiences of being half-Japanese into the heady mix –  but most importantly she knows how to tell them. 

She is a vibrant, upbeat personality with an unaffected, jaunty conversational style that really engages with an audience. And while she’s got plenty to tell us, she’s not afraid to bend the script to go with what the moment demands. Occasionally, for instance, she might fluff a line, but is unfazed, with a confident looseness to her performance that adds to this 25-year-old’s likeability, even when she’s describing conduct that’s impossible to condone.

We’re likely to be hearing a lot more from the gregarious Oyama – which is good news for her, since she’s got a LOT of driving fines to pay off…

Review date: 9 Apr 2019
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival