The Ballad of Oliver Coleman review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Storytelling of apocalyptic proportions meets stand-up hilarity in Oliver Coleman's show The Ballad of Oliver Coleman. This ball of neurotic energy takes us through the usual insights on life, but puts them under a finely tuned, high-stakes microscope, as if every little inconvenience might be a tipping point.

Conversation focuses on landlords, renting and relationships, common fodder for comedians. But Coleman zigs and zags all over the narrative, while crafting a smooth job of bringing back ideas he's already mentioned and tying them in with new themes or stories.  There’s also some content about climate change and the future of the world, but it’s barely of any importance, just the impending collapse of civilisation, nothing major.

Coleman discusses things he can and can't do in real life versus when he's performing. This includes being able to make strange noises and random body movements on stage, which ends up resembling a constipated chicken. It's not exactly an appealing visual, and would question if that should ever be allowed to be done in public, but his commitment to the bit is totally worth it and I would absolutely watch him do it again.

The spotlight is also turned onto the audience, quite literally, with the room going dark and Coleman switching on a torch towards us in an equally thrilling and terrifying turn. We are now pulled into this story; we are part of this story. It's no longer the ballad of Oliver Coleman, but the ballad of each person in the room. It creates an intimacy that suggests we are now all in this together. Or maybe I am reading too much into it, and he is simply looking for shits and giggles. Either way, the gag works.

Coleman’s ability to seamlessly mix absurdity with sharp observation, all while dragging the audience along for the ride, is what makes The Ballad of Oliver Coleman a genuinely memorable experience. Whether it’s his physical comedy, playful audience interaction, or the way he ties everything together, you can’t help but feel you’ve witnessed something a bit chaotic, yet oddly cohesive. The show may not save the world, but it’ll certainly have you forget about it for an hour.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Melbourne Town Hall, 100 Swanston St, Melbourne
Season: until 20 April | Tues - Sat 6.30pm, Sun 5.30pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $29 - $34 Full | $27 Conc & Tightarse Tuesday
Bookings: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Image credit: Ian Laidlaw