Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

From his assured manner and punchy delivery, there would be little to indicate Freddie McManus was performing his first solo Melbourne International Comedy Festival show.

However, there are tell-tale signs in the self-deprecating material that dwells rather too long on what he looks like (Lego man hair, speccy, a bullies’ target at school and the sort of fella a mum would call ‘a nice young man’). And, more revealingly, in just how often he stops to comment on how we’re a quiet crowd. Sure, ten of us in a backstreet bar at 6pm on a Wednesday night can’t hope to match the ‘Netflix special’ vibes that his strapping performance gives off, but has highlighting an audience’s reticence ever made people less self-conscious about being in a small room? 

When he can put those insecurities aside, McManus shows himself to be a useful joke writer, whether it’s a silly bit of wordplay or brief observational riff. These weave in with first-hand stories of his upbringing in the UK, his brief stint as a door-to-door charity collector, a taxi driver’s dubious opinions and the nightmare housemate he once lived with, part of a greater theme about the external constraints on Gen Y ambition.

His material is always delivered with pace and purpose, with anecdotes stripped back to get to the point and the punchline as efficiently as possible.

McManus isn’t quite as new as his debutant status suggests: he was New South Wales state finalist in the Raw new act competition as long ago as 2016, and has several theatre credits to his name, which explains his slick delivery and at-home stage presence. 

Over that time, he’s learned how to put together a well-constructed show, even if talking poignantly about a Covid-related bereavement, as he does for the final few minutes, has become an almost-expected staple for festival shows. But it’s a significant life event, so no wonder he needs to address it, and he strikes a good balance between sensitively evoking the grief and eliciting laughs.

• Freddie McManus Is Stoppable is at Fad Gallery at 6pm until Sunday

Review date: 6 Apr 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival