Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Geraldine Hickey would be the first to tell you that her life is pretty sick, in the best possible sense of that word. She’s just turned 40, is engaged to an adoring partner who pulled out every stop to celebrate that milestone, has a job she loves on breakfast radio and is playing one of the most prestigious venues at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. 

On paper, it might not seem like the makings of a compelling hour of comedy, given most acts would surely become insufferable if they relentlessly told you how wonderful their relationship is and how much uncomplicated joy they’re actively wringing out of life. 

Hickey is exceptional though. An immensely popular mainstay of the Melbourne scene for some time, she’s become a considerable comic force by turning relatively ordinary anecdotes into compelling yarns through sharp writing, impeccable deadpan delivery, a marvellous eye for detail and pure uncut likeability.

Combining a tendency towards introversion with childlike enthusiasm (she gets extremely excited that her 40th birthday celebration might feature a bouncy castle) it’s impossible not to be on Hickey’s side in every scenario described, even when she admonishes her seemingly saintly partner for neglecting to deliver that bouncy castle. 

All the stories are cheerful, and the relative lack of drama becomes an admirable feature, not a bug. Also, you don’t get the sense that much has been exaggerated for effect; Hickey seems set on mining actual events for material and doesn’t feel the need to embellish, and sometimes uses video evidence to demonstrate the truth of what she’s described. 

Honest to goodness, life-affirming fare that still manages to be funny is no mean feat. Regardless of your tastes, and assuming you enjoy being happy, Hickey provides an inimitably good time. 

Review date: 1 Apr 2021
Reviewed by: Patrick Horan
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival