By Lisa Clark
Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall has been doing comedy in Melbourne for many years. He’s collaborated a lot with other performers like Pat Burtscher. This is the first time I’ve seen him do a full solo standup show and it won’t be the last. Oh Hey Guys has the loveliest bit of (non-compulsory), unexpected, audience participation in it of the festival. Let’s just say, if you like a bit of carol singing, this is the show for you.
Alasdair is a great storyteller and a great writer, but don’t expect him to be slick or hitting you with rapid fire punchlines, he’s more thoughtful and reflective in style but he can still bowl you over. Oh Hey Guys gave me my best laugh so far at the Festival, I was really nearly falling out of my seat in tears at his story about a Buck’s night that takes a strange turn. I would love to have been at that Bucks night. It’s not what you expect at all.
The minimal audience participation in the show is, like Alasdair, unthreatening, and rather sweet. He makes one audience member our leader and doesn’t bother him too much. Then in the middle of the show there is a surprise that I can’t spoil (though the aforesaid singing might come into it) and it is a joyful, inspired surprise, almost as good at Michael Williams’ astonishing surprise in his show, which I also can’t talk about, (even though his season has finished, he might wish to perform it elsewhere), but anyway, you will be talking about Alasdair’s surprise to your friends and they will say, “Oh My God, that’s BRILLIANT!” and it was. Silly and brilliant.
Alasdair’s a brand new dad and the fact that he was able to put a show together that is as lovely and funny as this, is some sort of miracle in itself. New fatherhood does not dominate the show but when he does talk about it, he’s doing it from the angle of an intellectual inner city comedian. He finds laughs in the most unexpected aspects of parenthood and it’s refreshing to hear someone going into darker aspects of the experience.
If you are looking for something smart, warm, delightful and not at all in your face at the Festival, go see Alasdair, he’s funny and also, he’s got a new family to support.
Oh Hey Guys is on at the Forum Theatre until April 17
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/oh-hey-guys-alasdair-tremblay-birchall