By Colin Flaherty
M is For Melbourne is a loving look at all things Melbourne. Using an alphabet chart template Julian O’Shea explores topics somewhat related to this city while finding time to bad-mouth Vienna, the city who “stole” our title of World’s Most Livable City.
O’Shea presents all manner of weird and wonderful facts, some of which were news to some Melbourne residents in the crowd. Most tidbits sparked uproarious laughs of recognition from either lived experience, being featured on his YouTube channel or from the Melbourne zeitgeist. The amount of research that has gone into this show is amazing and he is clearly passionate about sharing this information with us. There are plenty jokes using local references making it a somewhat exclusive club.
Julian has a touch of Dave Gorman about him in the way that he creates physical items or content in the real world about most of the topics covered here. Just like Gorman, everything is documented for our delight (such as his flight in the Birdman Rally a few years ago that’s shown in all of its doomed glory).
As you would expect from someone who creates video content online, this a very visual show. Sure he conveys brilliantly engaging detail through his scripted words, but the video element plays a vital part in his storytelling and does a lot of the heavy lifting. His slides and clips not only show proof of his escapades but provide clarity for some of the lesser know facts as well as inserting plenty of cheeky visual jokes.
Then there are many props he has created – either especially for this performance or other projects. Each ridiculously inventive item has a logical purpose in his tales. It is a delight to see them go from being amusingly outlandish concepts on screen to astonishingly silly creations when unveiled in the flesh.
Honing his stagecraft on various screens over a number of years, Julian is a confident performer who makes it look effortless. He bounds through the material at a decent clip with plenty of colour and movement to keep us engaged. His enthusiasm is infectious and keeps everyone laughing throughout, even during some of the dry educational bits.
On the back of his online popularity, this MICF run sold out quickly. Here’s hoping this charmingly amusing performer graces us again with his physical presence soon.
M is for Melbourne is on at Doubletree by Hilton until April 7
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/m-is-for-melbourne-the-world-s-mostly-liveable-city
