Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

That this show stars with Kate Dolan emerging from the back row with a large potted shrub on her head speaks volumes about what a silly hour she has in store. And that it’s only in service of a painful dad joke shows her absolute commitment to the absurd.

As for the rest of the hour, it’s a fast-paced, fragmented stream of consciousness, with the comic often dropping into daft accents, sometimes even song, for no apparent reason. 

One voice that does have purpose, however, is that of her inner critic, a deep-toned messenger of doom (thanks to a voice modifier) that preys on her insecurities, comments on how the gig’s going, and second-guesses what the audience are thinking of her.

Fellow Brit Terry Alderson uses a similar trick to make real his inner monologue, but the two approaches are notably different. A better comparison for Dolan’s wider approach might be with Harry Hill, with disparate items of whimsical, sometimes full-on surreal nonsense floating in and out of her mind and on to the stage.

She says she is an insomniac, and this can seem like a frenetic fever dream, but played out live. The unhinged energy makes her a compelling presence, and her performance screams ‘star quality’.

Though odd, her manic musings are based on real life, with a stand-out routine revolving around her trying on wedding dresses not designed for her shape or style.

There’s many a point about societal sexism, like the Nasa patriarchy having no clue how many tampons a female astronaut might need, but it’s always done with heightened ludicrousness. The masculine energy of businessmen or blokeish comedians doing crowd work and businessmen also get a satirically silly slap.

Dolan’s own state of mind is the other topic she repeatedly refers to, and you can understand why. It’s surely not usual to have the onslaught of thoughts she shares so intensely here, but they do make for excellent comedy.

Just when you think this is relentless, a poem to the stars provides a dreamy moment of calm – before it’s subverted again as Dolan careers headlong towards the next absurdity.

While the internal critic that’s so central to this show is out to undermine her, Dolan’s fierce performance outwardly projects a confidence that drowns out any anxiety. The plentiful laughs she elicits will do that too.

Review date: 9 Apr 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival