Silly Love Songs review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

If ever there was a show whose title delivered exactly what it said it would, it's Stew Walker's Silly Love Songs. Armed with a guitar and an arsenal of dad jokes, Walker sings his way through a number of songs around love that reflect his unique perspective of being married for 35 years.

Walker has a warm stage presence and the premise for the show is interesting, especially as it's not often you hear a straight, white, older male sincerely discussing love and relationships. Through a mix of original songs and parodies, he covers a variety of topics mainly about how things have changed in dating since he got hitched, so there's songs around consent, dating apps and even a love pentagon.

While this is all pleasant enough, to have the audience get invested and lean in to the show further, there needs to be a stronger running thread linking everything. As it stands, Silly Love Songs is a mishmash of ideas that don't support the show as a whole. There is a song about loving chicken sung to Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" (“Love Me Tenders”) that doesn't serve any purpose other than to offer a few chuckles. The songs that work best are the ones that are tied to Walker's own relationship whether it is specifically about those dating experiences or how things have changed.

The 4pm / 5pm time slot for Silly Love Songs is perfect for this show and it is a great way to start your night out on the town with your significant other. The lyrical skills that Walker displays is the strength of this show, and he is definitely on a roll with the puns and wordplay, but more structure and narrative flow would help lift Silly Love Songs to be an entertaining night out on its own.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Fad Gallery, 14 Corrs Lane, Melbourne
Season: 22-23 April | Sat 5pm, Sun 4pm
Length: 50 minutes
Tickets: $26-$29 Full | $22-$25 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival