Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Dahn Rozario is a natural show-off, right at home being the centre of attention with his livewire delivery of earthy material. 

However, that unrefined voice is not always edifying when, for example, he asserts that ‘white girls are my least favourite type of puss’ or evokes gross images of screwing Pauline Hanson that no one needs living in their head.

Yet while his crude and lewd festival debut is very much a mixed bag, often going for low-hanging fruit, there’s no denying that the Aussie-Indian comic’s rough-and-tumble approach has a raw appeal. 

A long and wild story at the centre of the hour, which starts with a drug-fuelled pash at a nightclub and ends in abject humiliation at the girl’s house – is a strong example of gonzo storytelling. It’s amusingly and frankly told, and the audience can be thankful we relive the grim experience only vicariously.

In social attitude, he tilts a little Joe Rogany, pushing back against woke sensibilities and deeming the Western world doomed if we’re breeding delicate snowflakes to take on the resilient, hard-working kids of communist China. 

‘It’s OK to have racist thoughts,’ he says – although prejudice drove his family from India. Indeed, Rozario created a female Arabic character called Fatima for TikTok, though it didn’t go down well with everyone in that community.

Occasionally, his contrary opinions throw up a funny idea – such as considering colour-blind casting a form of cultural appropriation – but his approach is relatively blunt, and many would disagree with him.

For all the promise of the title, Rozario shines more when telling rumbustious first-hand stories than when grappling with the thorny issues of race.

• Dahn Rozario: White People Need to Relax is on at Trades Hall at 7.20pm (6.20pm on Sundays, no show on Wednedays) until April 23.

Review date: 12 Apr 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival