Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

This could be the dead-set median show of the comedy festival: a collection of perfectly amiable, relatable stories, competently delivered by a clear pro, never terrible,  but never outstanding either.

Sam Taunton talks about weirdos on public transport, nightmare gigs, breaking up with his girlfriend, how men and women behave differently. And you can substitute the words ‘Sam’ and ‘Taunton’ in that sentence for any number of white, male, 20-30-something, middle-class comedians in the Western world.

He attempts to form these routines into a show by tying them to advice his father gave him, as well as to the notion that he’s a gullible fellow, but it’s clearly just a device, rather than an integral part of any story.

Dad was a country singer who gave this offering its title. Straight From The Shoulder was his 1988 album, and also one of the nuggets of information he was trying to pass down to his son, counselling him to always tell it like it is. In that spirit, let’s say that there are much funnier anecdotal hours at the festival, and many more inventive ones too, leaving Taunton very much in the middle of the road.

He has a strong observational chunk about wifi, and a couple of enjoyably self-deprecating tales. But most of his anecdotes are cordial rather than laugh-out-loud, even if he has the sort easy-going but slick style that gives the audience confidence that the stories are funny. 

But he can be too quick to rest on those performance laurels too; in his preamble he just comments on the room, even down to just noticing that it has blinds on the windows, trusting that a light tone alone will be enough to make it funny.

It’s hard to determine quite what Taunton’s selling point is; and but undemanding good company is what you require, he’s your man.

Review date: 11 Apr 2019
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival