Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Most sketch comedy performers pick the genre to avoid revealing much about themselves, hiding behind characters instead. Not so much for Woah, Alyssa! who are compulsive over-sharers, giving frank insight into their lives together. 

Colwyn Buckland and Filip Lescaut were once an item – ‘Melbourne’s favourite gay comedy power couple’ no less – but ended their seven-year relationship last year. However, they are still besties and still living together even though Col has a new partner… and he’s in the room tonight. And probably every night,

Over the hour, they share the heartache, tears and joyous realisation that they will remain soulmates, if not lovers. Their account – which ranges from the outrageously hilarious to the heart-tugging – is occasionally interrupted by a sketch, but it's their story we want to hear.

Such emotional openness resonates hard with Gen Z and younger millennials who value such no-filter candour, and Woah, Alyssa! have built up an enthusiastic fan base from that demographic. This lively late-night crowd are up for it, invested in every moment of the show – and the relationship.

The crowd is also pumped up for the skits, which burst with energy, kick-started by the pumping dance beats which herald their arrival. It’s not entirely surprising to learn that the duo have been directed by Mark Bonanno from Aunty Donna, masters of this sort of powerhouse performance. 

Mocking old-school reality shows is a recurring theme, but with diminishing returns beyond the first, an astute over-the-top parody of MTV’s mid-2000s dating show Next. Their opening number, about gay culture and lingo entering the mainstream – thanks, RuPaul – is a banger, and anyone whose been to a comedy night will recognise the shallow point-making political stand-up they parody, even if it’s an easy target. Elsewhere, they talk about storylines in porn or the fucked-up articles in supermarket magazines like That’s Life! which again isn't that ambitious.

But the sketches aren’t the selling point, they are.

Both Col and Fil are hugely charismatic, cute even. Camp as a glitterball, disarmingly open, and with such an engaging performance they can get laughs from just an amusing intonation. The dynamism in their performance is unflagging and they forge a connection with the crowd comedians ten times more famous would envy. An hour in their indefatigable company is an absolute blast.

• Woah, Alyssa! 5 is on at The Westin hotel at 10.30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, this week and next.

Review date: 9 Apr 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival