Show Rating:

This is very much a show of two halves from this diminutive Aussie comic, the winner of the best newcomer title at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

As a stand-up, she's an amiable storyteller, painting a witty picture of her life in the Australian outback, married to a dental technician and mother of five kids.

The humour is in the detail, as her underplayed yet honest descriptions gradually draw you into her world, her warmly-delivered routine eventually proving much more amusing than the sum of its parts.

This material, though, is augmented by some seriously unfunny sketches as McLoughlin bravely battles to pad out the full hour.

For these, she is joined, as billed, by her sister - who boasts a convincing range of accents and no small measure of acting talent.

But however good the performances, nothing can hide the blatantly apparent fact that they are ill thought-out and lacking in punchlines.

These dismal efforts do nothing to supplement the stand-up, serving only to destroy all the goodwill generated by the earlier, enjoyable, monologue.

Back to the drawing board for the next full-length show, I think.

Oh, and the guy? A guitarist who appears for one typically lacklustre sketch.