Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Not so much stand-up as an evocative piece of magical realism storytelling, God's Favourite details the colourful  Mental journey Scout Boxall took when out of Seroquel, the meds they take for their bipolar disorder, one night. 

It happened in regional Victoria – hours from the nearest chemist – where the comedian was attending a role-playing wedding as a nun, just to add to extra absurdity to the troubling experience. 

The tone shifts between the lyricism with which Boxall describes the intense hallucinations and the more prosaic stand-up sections, especially up front when they explain being non-binary, loving the arcane community of LARPers, and suffering a Mental health condition so much higher on the ‘psycho pecking order’ than common-or-garden ADHD, which Boxall repeatedly mocks, tongue-in-cheek, from a  position of smug superiority.

In a strange situation and with their overactive mind unchecked by the drugs, Boxall goes on wild flights of imagination, mulling over topics from Greek mythology to  the real-life arrogance of a normal, untrained man who thinks he can outrun one of the fastest women of all time.

The comedian’s own insecurities run deep. Is that lump on their neck anything to worry about? Everyone who saw it on TV seems to think so.  And has their career stalled? ’I was meant to be the voice of a generation!’ they wail. It’s not too late, the comedian can lay good claim to being voice of those who share their troubles, while offering just a small peak into what it must be like to the rest of us.

Visions of Saint Hildegard of Bingen and Joan Of Arc loom large during Boxall’s tormented night, allowing them to explore the connections between Mental illness and creativity. Are voices from God divine inspiration, psychotic episodes or both? And if Mental instability does fuel inspiration, is that a sacrifice worth making? No, the comic concludes, desperate to find calmness in their happy place: the instructional videos of painter Bob Ross or, preferably, their antipsychotic pills. 

Ironically, of course, the bipolar hallucinations HAVE created a wonderfully artistic piece of absorbing comic storytelling, unique in its outlook and rich with specific references such as these.  

The night’s turmoil allows Boxall to take in all manner of subjects that would be hard to segue between in a normal stand-up show, yet seem  so organic here. And while rooted in trauma, that’s greatly sidelined for an emphasis is  on the comic surrealism of their unwanted trip, and some of the more philosophical questions it raised.

Engagingly told, the story is enhanced with impressive, but understated theatricality, with subtle lighting changes and atmospheric or even jokey sound effects (shout out to the sound tech, on point with every interjection of Seroquel’s cheery jingle). It all makes for a richer experience than your average comedy show, pulling you closer into Boxall’s unusual world.

Review date: 4 Apr 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival