Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Before New Zealand’s potent musical comedy powerhouses take to the stage we have a support act: Larry and Joseph, a couple of good ole boys performing a country track.

Their song is catchy, and the lyrics are both funny and pointed, parodying the trendiness of men’s Mental health as a cause and its knee-jerk use as a defence mechanism to swerve responsibility for toxic behaviour.  

That’s quite a tricky concept to get over in a jaunty three-minute track, needing to ensure their mockery hits only deserving targets, and they nail it. 

It’s typical of the way Laura Daniel and her IRL husband Joseph Moore – for, spoiler alert, it is they – can sneak social issues into genuine musical bangers. Or they could just as easily write a dumb song about something like Chemist Warehouse, but elevate it with their phenomenal musicality.

Their dynamic is defined by a strong and appealing sense of mischief, demonstrated by the fact Daniel gave her yee-hah alter-ego her partner’s first name. She is the dominant, glamorous, egotistical and flirtatious frontwoman, treating Joseph as something of a cuck. 

For his part, he’s often stuck behind his laptop, responsible for firing up the pumping backing tracks and impressive video backdrops.  Yet he gets his moment in the spotlight during Don’t Stop Throbbing, thanks to a high-impact metal song about, erm, being a pescetarian. 

That they boast of delivering ‘very serious pop music’ – when really the tracks could revolve around something as quotidian as donating clothes to charity – is a running self-effacing joke. But while many numbers are silly, others touch on topics such as predatory men, social pressures to have children and depression – alleviated by an unlikely pick-me-up contained in a sign outside a London vape shop.

The songs are belted out with arena-filling vim and impactful choreography. You’d better believe they have the talents that wouldn’t be out of place on the Broadway stage. Daniel certainly does, and presents an extract from her musical about four women all linked by their relationship to a certain megalomaniac. On this basis, her show, Four, would be at least two-thirds as good as Six.

In fact, it’s definitely funnier, and is even more of a blast thanks to the pair’s unquenchable party spirit and wicked sense of humour.

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