Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

From the description of his 2022 show, Luke Heggie seems at high risk of toppling into that cohort of middle-aged white male comedians bitterly complaining that ‘you can’t say anything any more’ as their decades-old shtick no longer lands. His blurb aggressively deters those ‘who need to agree with absolutely everything someone else does and says’ and the pre-show announcements advise with heavy sarcasm that: ‘Everything is to be taken literally.’

This, however, is something of a false red flag. For while Heggie is hardly awash with compassion and is fiercely uncompromising about those he hates (spoiler alert: it’s everybody), the gags are so sharp and delivered at such a torrent that you’re too busy laughing to be analysing their moral fibre.

He has no time for hipsters, or the youth, or the old, or the ugly, or the fat, or celebrities who misuse the word ‘humble’. But the grumpy nihilism emanates from the fact he apparently dislikes himself as much as anyone else, and he’s just fine with that.

The delivery is dismissive and embittered; but tight, too. Heggie doesn’t waste time ingratiating himself or filling stories with unnecessary details – he just wants to call as many people as many names as he can within his hour.

It makes him an efficient punchline machine, occasionally shedding light on something like gentrification, or screwed-up capitalism, or the limited worldview of the liberal metropolitan elite. But making points seems as important to him as making friends - that is, not at all.

Some of his gripes are overly familiar, and the lack of texture in the relentless hour can get wearying. But for a hard-hitting comic who rides roughshod over niceties without being too much of a dick about it, Heggie’s you’re man.

• Luke Heggie: Your Stupid is at the European Beer Cafe at 9.30pm (8.30pm on Sundays) until April 24. Additional shows on April 23 at 4pm at Max Watts and 10.45pm at Melbourne Town Hall.

Review date: 18 Apr 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival