Brave & Bold review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Douglas Rintoul has spent many years trying to discover the best version of himself. In his musical sketch comedy show, Brave and Bold, this WAAPA music theatre graduate shares how sometimes there is no mould that you can fit into and you just need to be yourself.

Rintoul displays considerable creativity with his original songs, and along with Marlon Grunden's music composition, he covers a variety of genres with inventive lyrics that convey his slightly off-centre view of the world. A highlight is the bizarre ode to a baby hand that also has a few nice little callbacks throughout.

There is a good use of the limited lighting design available in the space and the television monitor that plays select lyrics of his songs adds another visual element that strengthens the production.

Where this show falls short is that it seems to skirt around the difficulties and challenges Rintoul has faced over the years. There are times when he talks about how his life has changed for the better and sings about the version of himself that he used to be, but we never actually learn what that version was. At another point he mentions how his partner has impacted his life, but we don't know what that impact was. While some of the sketches are entertaining, they don't add anything to the narrative of Rintoul looking to fit in and finding out who he really is.

As a sketch comedy, Rintoul demonstrates that he can be a charismatic and likeable performer with a great voice. But in his attempts to broach the subject of trying to find out who you are and having the confidence to embrace that, Rintoul ends up spreading himself quite thin and Brave and Bold ends up being a tame and timid affair.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: until 7 April | 5:30pm
Duration: 55 minutes
Tickets: $39 Full | $35 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival