Comedy Roulette review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Comedy Roulette is the kind of show that thrives on uncertainty. You don’t know who’s performing, what they’ll talk about, or how weird it could get, and that’s exactly the point. With a spinning wheel of prompts and a changing line-up of comics, it’s a late-night gamble that leans into spontaneity over structure.

Kru Harale acts as MC and she does a wonderful job explaining the format and revving up the audience, no small feat given the timeslot (is 10:20pm a late night, or am I just getting old?). Harale has curated a rotating smorgasbord of comedians for Comedy Roulette with an admirable spread of diversity and comedy styles. In this instance, we are treated to the likes of Lizzy Hoo, He Huang, Jess Fuchs, Sumukhi Suresh, Nick Capper and Daniel Connell. Apart from Connell, I had never seen any of them before so it was a perfect way to discover new voices and enjoy the buzz of not knowing what I was in for.

The setup is loose. Comedians begin with a short set, which can range from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. And then it's time to "SPIN! THE! WHEEL!" Or as one comedian says the evening I attended, "FLIP! THE! WHEEL!" (which I would personally love to see.) And spin the wheel we do, and whatever it lands on becomes the topic. They can spin it one time or three times. Hell, they don't even have to stick to the topic and can simply pick another off the wheel.

In this regard, it's a great way to see how the performers' minds work on the spot. Huang is ridiculously entertaining as she discusses pubic shaving and Chinese communism, while Connell hits a few funny bones with his revolutionary call-to-action of eating while you shop at the grocery store. Suresh, visiting from India for the festival, gives her perspective on Australian politics, and Capper shares the pros and cons of drinking alcoholic over non-alcoholic drinks.

That said, some of the prompts might work better if they were more open-ended. Phrases like ‘the title of a movie about my life would be...’ can be a bit limiting, whereas simpler ones give comics more room to play. When the spin stops on "weirdest advice I ever got" or simply "sex", it allows the comedian to go wide and come up with some brilliant anecdotes and jokes.

If you're in the mood for something a little looser, a little weirder, that provides plenty of laughter (with the occasional hilarity), you still have two chances to check out Comedy Roulette at this festival.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Melbourne Town Hall, 100 Swanston St, Melbourne
Season: until 18 April | Fri & Sat 10.20pm
Duration: 50 minutes
Tickets: $26 Full | $22 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival