Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Has one of Australia’s grubbiest loser comics cleaned up his act? Dan Rath arrives at this year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival not in slovenly T-shirt, but ironed collar – and performing in a prestigious room at the Town Hall, too.

But don’t be fooled, he’s still the same bitter outsider, clinically depressed atop a list of physical health woes. ‘Yeah guys, I don’t feel good,’ remains his opening gambit. He’s so unlucky he gets Lyme disease from a tick bite in the CBD.

Living in a grim hostel and so lonely he turns to anti-vaxxers for a sense of community, Rath’s experiences might be extreme, but they’re relevant in a cruel world that’s increasingly depersonalised and exploitative, ever-harder for those at the bottom to eke out a satisfying existence. 

How much of this is real is irrelevant, Rath so inhabits this squalor that the unbelievable becomes believable. And despite coming from a place of misery – in fact, because of it – the wonderfully titled Pariah Carey is a relentlessly funny hour.  

Life has so crushed Rath’s spirit that his outlook is cynical and bleak. And because he has no reason to try to sugar-coat his swipes at the cruel world, the punchlines are brutally revealing. Often they are self-abasing, too, given he’s got so little self-respect.

Life in the gutter offers a different perspective on the mundanities of life, and Rath - whose last special, I’m Not Doing Well Folks, has just been released for free on YouTube – keenly exploits that. And whatever tragic persona he projects, there’s a sharp and unique mind behind it, with unique, hard-hitting jokes aplenty. For someone low-energy and morose, the gags come at quite the lick. 

He engages in crowd work to break up the despair, with the feeling this might be the only human contact he’s going to get this day. This is patchier, but ensures the mood doesn’t get too dark.

But if it does, he’s got some great ‘life hacks’ for the suicidal, ironically enough. That is typical of the sort of contrary, unique thinking which even finds some benefits in being a Titanic victim. It’s not like him to seek silver linings, but when things are grim, you grasp on to what you can.

And with a unique, offbeat voice, it’s great to see Rath finally finding the wider audience he deserves. But will it make him happy? You wouldn't bet on it.

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