Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

This courtroom is a joke. And Andy Matthews and Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall the utterly inept lawyers trying to defend their client against the charge of hat theft in the face of overwhelming evidence.

Their gambit is to argue about the very nature of reality and consciousness, bamboozling the judge and jury with nonsensical legalise. They are desperate, unethical chancers worthy of The Simpsons’ desperate ambulance-chaser Lionel Hutz himself.

Our two comedians revel in the convoluted verbosity of their phoney jargon and teetering edifices of flawed reasoning – although some of their more tortuous gambits risk leaving the audience bewildered, too. Yet these over-reaching treatises are mixed with dumb wordplay, creative visual gags and inventively twisted logic – such as why basketball is the exact opposite of Lord Of The Rings – that rewards you handsomely for paying attention.

The couple are fine physical comics too, which is especially evident in Tremblay-Birchall’s unique way of getting into his cheap jacket. Two weeks into the run and the pair haven’t mastered their tricksy script enough to deliver all the lines with the confidence they deserve. And if they are guilty of one thing, it’s poor acting – thought that’s more of a boon than a hindrance in this stupid world.

As if the careful weighing of the scales of justice is not enough to sustain the show – and it isn’t – there’s also a storyline about the personal lives of one-time professional Gargoyle and Todd to add an extra layer of silliness.

Even with this, the wonderfully punctuated "My" "Client" "Is" "Innocent" runs out of steam before the end – but individual moments here will be among the most original and funny you’ll see all festival. 

• Andy Matthews & Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall: "My" "Client" "Is" "Innocent" is at Trades Hall at 6pm on April 21 to 23, and 5pm on April 24.

Review date: 20 Apr 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival