Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Scout Boxall would never claim to be the slickest comedian in Melbourne this month. But this cheerful oddball’s stupidly freewheeling show is a real pick-me-up, even if the loose performance might benefit from more guardrails to keep things on track and help the scattergun silliness congeal into a more coherent show.

‘I’ve always been something of a space cadet,’ the mulleted comic confesses, long after the audience has reached the same conclusion themselves, thanks to a series of off-the-wall routines and quirky crowd interactions.

Turbo Lover is said to be about ‘the conditions that have shaped Scout’s experiences of romance and intimacy’ as a non-binary bisexual. There’s certainly a bit of that as they go through some memorable dates and formative experiences. But many of the often chaotic segments merely revel in delightful bits of nonsense.

Bonkers conspiracy theories, an illustrated lecture on ancient pornographic pottery, their strait-laced neoliberal economist parents, the bizarre tie-up between VB beer and male grooming products, Jehovah’s Witnesses and how polyamory is no substitute for old-fashioned sleeping around are just some of the subjects that have piqued Boxall’s interests in this haphazard hour.

There’s PowerPoint and a soundboard loaded with dumb effects to add to the knockabout feel, while the comic is happy to chuck in mini-character work, such as their Christian pastor, or the most cheesy of puns to keep the mix unpredictable.

Boxall has jokes, but it all works mainly because of their thoroughly endearing strength of personality, embracing their peculiarities and welcoming the audience to hop on board their brain dump, as messy and random as it is.

• Scout Boxall: Turbo Lover is on at Melbourne Town Hall at 6.15pm from tomorrow until Saturday then 5.15pm on Sunday.

Review date: 17 Apr 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival