Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Such An Inspiration is a hard-hitting show, taking swings at the often toxic media conversation in which trans women find themselves embroiled. Anna Piper Scott’s punchlines land hard, too, proving a fiercely and acerbically funny response to the reductive narrative.

The show also comes with what she calls the ‘Nanette moment’, a poignant pivot from the ribald to the distressing as she describes previous abuse she suffered, reducing some audience members to tears. But she comes through it – both in life and in the show – to emerge as the brash, riotous personality who owns this stage.

Her assertion is that trans women like her are only ever permitted three roles: punchline, villain or victim – and she rejects all three, even after surviving her callous treatment. As expected, she hits back at Dave Chappelle’s transphobic material and offers her take on the debate on trans women in sport, with spiky commentary even a Terf could find amusing.

For all her powerful, witty rhetoric, Scott also rejects the notion of being ‘inspirational’, as the tongue-in-cheek title suggests. She’s as messy and human as anyone else, as she constantly reminds us with her unfiltered anecdotes. And should she ever, for a moment, get big-headed, she’s got her smartass ‘chaos demon’ of a housemate to knock her down a peg or two.

Yet while she is universally empathetic, she rejects the idea that everyone needs to walk on eggshells around touchy gender issues. With some playfully contrary gags, she puts the ‘trans’ in transgressive. 

Scott is adept at bringing the audience into her life, generous so we understand her, warts and all. The show is personal more than political, but to be invited to laugh at her flaws and her idiocy (as well as that of others) is more important in changing the frequently dehumanising trans narrative than any angry rant.

Maybe she doesn’t see herself as inspirational, but it’s hard not to be charmed and moved by her stories and amused by her biting, often self-effacing, punchlines.

• Anna Piper Scott: Such An Inspiration ends its run at the Butterfly Club at 8pm tonight.

Review date: 14 Apr 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival