MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
FIONA O’LOUGHLIN: ADDRESSES THE NATION ★★★★
Athenaeum Theatre, until April 7

The title of Fiona O’Loughlin’s new show hints at lofty ambitions – a dissection of recent political failings, perhaps, or a comedic examination of important social issues?

“I had to pick a name months ago,” she confesses up front. “I don’t bloody know why I called it that.”

It hardly matters. O’Loughlin has a knack for finding the ridiculous in the ordinary: 1960s Irish Catholicism, life in a tiny town, and the agony of small talk at barbecues.

“That’s enough fun for today!” adults would say when she was little. Now, in her mid-50s, O’Loughlin gorges on fun like a kid with a bag of lollies, stuffing her face before a grown-up catches her. It imbues all her material with a gleeful naughtiness.

Let’s hope the opening night sound problems are resolved. If an audience can’t hear properly, they instinctively keep quiet – which isn't ideal for live comedy.