Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Oops is described as ‘a love letter to every mistake we’ve made’ – a celebration of the slip-up and a reminder to embrace our imperfections, no matter what others think.

The only problem is that Callum Straford has so carefully scripted every alleged blunder in this gentlest of shows that it feels stagey and cheesy, defying the very ‘embrace the chaos’ message that he’s trying to preach. 

While The Play That Goes Wrong and its various spin-offs have mined mishaps to great success, this relative newcomer hasn’t the performance skills, invention or – obviously - budget to do the same.

Many of the sketches he performs without obvious in-built errors are also quite weak, so it’s not certain whether they are intentionally or unintentionally bad. Either way, ‘bad’ is the key adjective. 

A few cases in point include a clunky mime about trying to sneak into the house without waking anyone and the lines ‘I’ve got a worse delivery than Australia Post’ or ‘my arms dealer got offended when I asked him if he sold legs too’.

Straford’s a cheery, winsome performer whose innocent demeanour lets him get away with some of this flimsy fare, but the corniness of the hour stretches the audience’s inherent goodwill. Although a few moments stand above the rest, primarily the songs, plus a skit about applying sunscreen to his pale skin.

Also, there’s something to admire about his care structuring the show, hitting a few beats on the nail. His second Melbourne International Comedy Festival show proves he’s very much a work in progress. But we’ve got to allow him his mistakes, eh?

• Callum Straford: Oops is at Bard's Apothecary at 5.30pm from tomorrow until Saturday April 23.

Review date: 17 Apr 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival