The Candidate review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Melbourne Town Hall

Mandy Nolan ran for the Federal seat of Richmond (Northern NSW) as the Greens candidate and lost. She lost by a 2% margin. In The Candidate, the comedian recalls the experience of running in a federal election and the impact this had on her.

Nolan is an extremely likeable and engaging speaker and it's very easy to see how she came so close to winning the seat in an electorate that is a bit too open to COVID and 5G conspiracy theories with a strong anti-vax mentality. She shows great ability in smoothly transitioning from completely ridiculous but factual encounters to the serious aspects of a feminist comedian running for politics, and the subsequent politics of running for politics.