Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Despite what the title may lead you to believe, Bec Melrose is not an ‘absolute goose’. Rather than being the jolly idiot herself, she’s a gently-spoken observer of those who do fit the ‘goose’ bill, no pun intended.

The second solo show from the 2018 Raw Comedy winner is a low-key introduction to the stranger members of her family who are all ‘legends’, even her dad who fits the archetype of the unemotional Aussie bloke.

But this is only a small portion of the show which has no real theme, thread, or even consistent style of gag. A cheap joke about the female weightlifter with the impressive snatch can sit alongside more whimsical fare about Helen of Troy setting an ‘unachievable beauty standards’. 

By the end of an hour, we don’t know all that much about Melrose or what makes her tick beyond the basics of her working-class family. She certainly feels inferior compared to her public-school friends – the tumult of emotions in watching one such pal at the sushi train is probably the best routine here. And a similar feeling of being the outsider pervades the tale of the boat trip she took after graduating high school.

However, much of Absolute Goose is a sequence of oft-made comments about the varied likes of hippy treatments such as reiki (which does have a decent payoff), the people you grew up partying with now becoming responsible parents, stagnant relationships or online vibrator reviews.

It’s perfectly OK material, with occasional highlights that go above and beyond, but Melrose delivers in such a dry, conversational way that she struggles to elevate it from feeling mundane. There’s a decent core of content here, but after those 20 minutes or so have been diluted with weaker routines and under-sold by her soft performance, the hour feels flat.

• Bec Melrose: Absolute Goose is at the Victoria Hotel at 7.20pm until April 24 (6.20pm Sundays, no show Mondays)

Review date: 11 Apr 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival