Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

New Zealander Jack Ansett is a proud nerd with too much time on his hands, so whiles away hours on Facebook, causing mischief.

He’s an online prankster, the scourge of the  neighbourhood group for the Grey Lynn and Ponsonby districts of Auckland where he repeatedly asked, ‘What’s everyone having for dinner?’ This apparently innocent question nonetheless wound people up for its daily repetition – and sharing the antsier reactions helped the comic become something of an internet celebrity.

This show is a relatively straightforward PowerPoint romp through such escapades, which also includes lurking in a landlords’ group to get the inside track on the enemy, subverting a photo-sharing community, making a drama from rumours of a Starbucks coming into the local supermarket, and hilariously entering a kids’ triathlon, with no one querying his age.

His pranks are relatively benign. He’s a low-status man in real life – bullied by Year 8s as he plays Fortnight online – claiming small victories where he can get them.

Ansett also goes the extra mile sometimes, such as baking a very explicit cake as part of a spin-off from his dinner queries, and the exploits often take an unexpected turn, either at his hand or by circumstances. He’s a robust storyteller, knowing exactly what information to reveal and withhold, and boasts a good sense of pace and timing in his delivery. 

The mischief is relatively low-stakes, and the show misses the sense of bigger purpose that a comic such as  Dave Gorman would bring to such real-world interactions, but Ansett’s playful and self-deprecating antics certainly bring the chuckles.

Review date: 18 Apr 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival