Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Ray O’Leary isn’t the first comedian to tell of getting an unsolicited diagnosis of n neurological condition from some rando in the street. But the droll Kiwi does have a unique way of drawing out the story, letting it advance and twist in baby steps, engagingly delivered with a mix of self-deprecation and indignation.

‘Some of your laughter is hurtful’ becomes something of a catchphrase as the audience sympathy he pretends to be fishing for is rarely forthcoming. When he sardonically makes a comment like ‘I’m a social asset to any conversation’, the response is, indeed, mocking.

Delivering in a careful monotone, O’Leary is the epitome of low-status, dressed in the unfashionable grey suit that’s become his trademark and forever nervously touching his face, glasses, tie and poodle perm, as shaggy as any of his stretched-out stories.

The slowness works both ways: sometimes it’s a lovely teasing meander around a topic, but at other times you’d be forgiven for wishing he’d just cut to the chase. But this is who he is, and mostly it’s endearing and captivating.

Amid the symphony of self-deprecation, he muses on subjects as disparate as the low security he encountered and at a care home, the question of ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ and the banal music of Coldplay. His timbre makes his comments sound considered and weighty, in contrast to their actual dumbness. 

Plenty of callbacks tie these sections together and give coherence to the hour – although not all the material is so related. Especially a cracking oddball anti-joke that combines a Borat impression and shock comedy – the two genres that O’Leary tongue-in-cheek suggests are the twin apices of comedy.

While this show might not boast a segment of the same meticulous granular detail as last year’s stand-out routine concerning every aspect of bed linen, there’s much to enjoy in another laid-back hour, underpinned by an understated pathos.

Review date: 10 Apr 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival