Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

David Rose is a sharp joke-writer and solid performer. But what he’s good at – really good at – is self-sabotage.

However good his material was, he couldn’t get beyond the fact that the audience wasn’t giving him the response he wanted. There were about 20 of us – maybe half-capacity and not bad for an unfamous comic in a fringe venue on a miserably rainy Monday night – but too quiet for his liking. 

Every couple of jokes, he’d stop his flow to interact, either with a bit of unremarkable crowd work or to complain about our muted response. Always cheerfully, but never hiding the fact it was bugging him. 

Needless to say, this meant he could never build momentum and we could never relax into his observations and stories, many revolving around his rural upbringing and his American girlfriend.

His set has a playful quality, and he loves a prank – as proved by a lovely story about the mischievous lies he tells his partner about Aussie life, and sport in particular. 

Rose has been gigging around the country to give her an overview of her new homeland and giving himself road tales for his set. A stand-out involves a ‘progressive bigot’ he confusingly encountered in one small town.

Some of the gags contain a touch of darkness, not least when he’s talking about his depression, which gives his punchlines a cheekily transgressive boost. 

He’s a trained lawyer – not that he’s used his degree much, he’ll readily confess – and those same smarts have been applied to some sharp, efficient one-liners other comics would envy. That’s combined with tight, confident delivery, at least when he’s sticking to the material and not getting distracted.

This stuff would go down well in the clubs – and there’s no through line to the show, suggesting that’s where the material been forged. Rose just has to get used to the different dynamics of a solo show, performing to a less wild school-night crowd – for he’s an accomplished comic otherwise.

Review date: 11 Apr 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival