Josh Ladgrove turns a sales seminar into dark comedy

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

NEAL PORTENZA IS JOSH LADGROVE ★★★★½
Chinese Museum, until April 21

Fans of Dr Professor Neal Portenza may be aware of the absurdist magician's plans to hang up his raspberry beret after last year’s festival.

True to his word, the man behind the clown, Josh Ladgrove, has shaken off the white lab coat and is back with a new character: himself. Sort of.

This is the most fascinating seminar on how to sell bilge pumps that you'll ever attend. From his backstage jitters through to his nonsensical marketing models, No.1 bilge pump salesman Mr Ladgrove is capitalism's most cultish (and facepalmish) elements incarnated. (He also has the best #MeToo one-liner I’ve heard so far at the festival.)

The show has all the best bits from Portenza – the slapstick, the repetitious gags, the whip-smart crowd interaction and improvisation – but with a fuller narrative and more exacting character comedy.  It also ventures into some dark and demented places in a way that will tickle fans of uncanny horror-comedy The League of Gentlemen.