Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett

Probably all you need to know about Anne Edmonds is contained in her opening gambit. Straight out of the trap, at 6pm on a Sunday, and she’s cracking jokes about swallowing cum. But her delightful trick is making it not dirty – well, not really – but silly, as she giggles at the thought of all those lost sperm.

Being playfully, cheekily inappropriate is her stock in trade. She says she’s desperate to please everyone, but on the basis of the killer anecdotes in in this relentlessly funny hour, it doesn’t always work. She has the knack of barrelling into situations without considering the consequences, so looking back and laughing is the way to own the embarrassment. But it’s no wonder ‘humiliation’ is one of the stated themes.

Interestingly, this year she’s reined back a little on what’s widely acknowledged to be her biggest talent, acting out the grotesque characters that populate her stories. They are still present – the irritating Slug Woman from her apartment block proving a skin-crawling delight – but here they serve a more conventional stand-up conversation, rather than being an end in themselves.

In the course of the hour Eddo opens up about herself and her slightly chaotic life. Dumped from a long-term relationship, she immediately, desperately seeks a new man to cling to, and it doesn’t end well. Then there’s her neighbour living in filth, a story that will have you retching and laughing in equal measure.

Personal tales are mixed with more universal observations, from the Instagram ‘duckface’ pose to the disproportionate terror some Australians have of being beheaded in the street. Quite a tough feat to make that last one funny, but Eddo powers through the discomfort.

The strength of her self-deprecating steamroller of a personality means she can get away with contentious material or cruel putdowns, striking a tone of naughtiness rather than nastiness. It’s all in keeping with an overarching tone of  comic exaggeration, though you can never be 100 per cent sure of where the truth is stretched.

It all adds up to a dynamic, punchy romp through a suburban underbelly, with a ribald guide who never lets up. Enjoy the ride.

Review date: 4 Apr 2016
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett