Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

There is a slight otherworldly edge to Abby Howells – a kookiness born from not quite understanding things in the same way as everyone else, enhanced by the distinctively lilting accent in which she describes them.

She plays up to that image by, for example, tapping her nose to indicate there’s some hidden meaning, when she’s actually being very direct, or making hilariously awkward attempts to project a cool swagger – such as acting smugly triumphant over a dad joke, as if she’s unlocked a secret code to how such gags work. 

With her off-kilter point of view it comes as no surprise that she’s autistic, a way of seeing things that, when paired with an overactive imagination, takes her routines to strange places.

The Cave nominally makes an attempt to understand some of this. The title refers to the Kiwi comic’s tweenage bedroom and she talks us through its contents, such as the posters on the walls, to trigger each anecdote. It’s not a deep conceit, merely a device to serve up various routines and pretend they’re linked.

But when you hear the list of things the ten-year-old Howells dreamed of saying one day because they sounded chic, it shows her capacity to misunderstand the concept of cool is a constant thread. Even now, she thinks The Worm is a sick dance move, and will defend those women who choose to have ‘Live Laugh Love’ artwork on their walls – and her argument makes some sort of sense.

Harking back to her youth, she hilariously recalls an unhinged school production of Wizard Of Oz and chats about her friend ‘Salty Peanuts’ in stories demonstrating how seeds were planted that have blossomed into her current quirkiness. Obsessions with the likes of The Little Mermaid, the six wives of Henry VIII (but not the musical Six) and one specific Taylor Swift song provide unique premises for her bits.

The tales are all wrapped up in a delightfully winsome delivery. Howells laughs infectiously at her own jokes and thanks us politely for enjoying her ‘creative choices’ when she does something a bit odd – which is often, and always welcome, in a charmingly eccentric hour.

• Abby Howells: The Cave is on at Melbourne Town Hall  at 6pm (5pm Sundays; no show Mondays) until April 19.

Review date: 5 Apr 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival