Lucky number 13. That's how many festival shows Australian comedian Daniel Connell had to make before I saw one of his shows, and I picked a good one. In Little Aussie Battler, Connell shares stories that the everyday hardworking family and individual can relate to while building them up and having them come across as very unique and eccentric.
His observations about the world around him float from the expected, such as teenager retail assistant with attitudes and what you do when you're hit with the horrible realisation that you have been burgled, and the somewhat unexpected, such as his recent browser history on animals. A highlight of the show - despite questioning the validity of his claim - lies with the tomfoolery that Connell states he gets up to in bookstores and then seeing how that leads him off into an even more priceless moment surrounding book reporting.
He has great banter with the audience and you can easily picture having Connell in your backyard, a beer in one hand with a bbq going and telling a yarn...like a true Aussie battler. He has a wonderful ability to not only use what is said by an audience member and bring it back into his act but also refer back to that interaction 20 minutes later. He might have his set already in his mind, but his mind is constantly working to see what else he can do with this material.
Connell is a gifted storyteller and it's a shame that it took 13 years to get myself to one of his performances. Hopefully the rest of Melbourne doesn't make the same mistake, with one more week of shows left of Little Aussie Battler at this year's Comedy Festival.
SHOW DETAILS
Venue: Rydges One, 186 Exhibition St, Melbourne
Season: until 21 April | Tues - Sat 7:30pm, Sun 6:30pm
Duration: 55 minutes
Tickets: $29 - $32 Full | $27 - $30 Conc | $25 Tightarse Tuesday
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
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