Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Two Hearts – aka Joseph Moore and Laura Daniel – request the pleasure of your company to celebrate the occasion of their wedding. Not the ceremony, mind, just the red-hot after-party.

The Kiwi musical duo, who tied the knot in real life in late 2022 at what sounds like a truly hedonistic day for the comedy world, have parlayed their big day into another banging musical comedy show – with added excuse to ramp up the camp. Quite the boast since they are already as camp as straight people get.

Their preamble will hit hard for anyone who has sunk thousands into creating a ‘special day’ that fundamentally changes nothing but offers a moment in the spotlight. But Moore and Daniel are not going to pass up that opportunity.

In the fun grouting between their songs, Til Death Do Us Hearts plays up the marital melodrama and interrogates their relationship a little. Will Daniel have to ditch her ‘drunken slut’ persona now she’s hitched? (Spoiler: no, she won’t.) And can Moore finally be authentic and vulnerable on stage, given that he performs with a bulletproof swagger but revealing nothing?

Both are formidable performers, putting their all into their contrasting, complementary characters, giving a strong sell to musical numbers that barely need the help, given how skilled they are at creating genuinely danceable tracks which envelop their jokey lyrics.

Their Holiday song could genuinely be the Europop hit of the summer; there’s a grinding R&B track, a disco number relatable to any woman who’s braved the streets in their club outfit, an anthem for straight people and an over-earnest eco-ballad – few of which are what they first seem, but all of which are brilliant compositions.

They joke that this festival offering is just like the Eras tour, but they do their finest on a non-Swiftian budget, with floral arches, proper music videos, and a determination to provide the best goddam show they can.

Yet they also parody their attempts to be hip, especially in a segue full of cringe attempts to connect with Gen Z. And that surely includes using words like ‘cringe’.

Two Hearts pull off the unlikely trick of being simultaneously cool and not – creating an infectious party vibe in the room while parodying the mechanics of pop music, being irresistibly charismatic while mocking their own character flaws. If you’re looking for a cracking hour’s entertainment, say ‘I do’ to this pair.

Review date: 7 Apr 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival