Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

We are gathered here today to join Dave and Tony in holy matrimony, with Andy Balloch acting as the MC for the reception that follows.

With sackloads of unassuming charm, you’d definitely want him compering your big day, as he’s a generous host, calm yet confidently in control. Even when talking about what makes him ‘so angry’, it comes in the most chilled tone imaginable.

This heightened version of himself, perhaps slightly precious about his theatrical talents, introduces a sizeable cast of characters while filling us in on the grooms’ backstories.

That both are well-educated thirtysomething high-flying professionals with only the most minor of differences gives an idea of the privileged setting of the wedding, even though guests come from different social strata. You can’t choose your family…

As the speeches go on, our MC also slowly reveals the couple’s past in the seediest sex clubs of Berlin, all the while maintaining an erudite charm to the storytelling, an amusing juxtaposition.

Balloch also plays almost a dozen other characters making their speeches, some of which reveal homophobia both blatant and subtle.

It’s clear there’s disquiet in some quarters about a same-sex wedding. Cousin Braden admits he voted ‘no’ on the plebiscite deciding the issue before grumbling that ‘you can’t joke about anything these days’.

But he’s no exaggerated bigot. Balloch makes his alter-egos nuanced, everyday people, their prejudices revealed, like other aspects of their character, through offhand remarks and small gestures.

We get Chloe, the tipsy maid of honour, sharing cringey jokes and exposing biases, while great-uncle Pete is surprisingly OK with non-binary pronouns. Best man Chris is trying a bit too hard to be woke, making charmingly awkward references to the likes of toxic masculinity you suspect he doesn’t quite understand.

The wedding co-ordinator has clearly planned the day with more precision than the D-Day landings, while American guest Jessica is the largest of the personalities, addressing the room like an old-school bawdy Broadway dame. But even here Balloch keeps he just the right side of over-the-top.

And all the while a 13-year-old cousin runs riot in the aisles, always pulling focus, even though he’s unseen.

The delicate tone of The Wedding is, however, upset at the pivotal 40-minute mark, when Balloch delivers a very earnest trans acceptance message which takes us out of the reception and starts addressing the audience as his real self. The points he makes about the trans community feeling abandoned with, at best, mere lip service paid towards allyship marks a clunky gear change for the show.  This could certainly have been handled more artfully and organically – although there’s no doubt it came from the heart.

Indeed, the same message was more powerfully conveyed  the father of one of the grooms, not through speechifying but by demonstrating himself to be a proud parent full of love for a son that has gone through so much. That was the perfect emotional note to end… now to hit the dancefloor!

Review date: 16 Apr 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival