Comedy @ Marble Bar
The Marble Bar (underneath the Hilton Hotel)
488 George Street, Sydney
6:30 pm Tuesdays
$15 (includes one free drink)

For the first time in far too many years, there’s a comedy room in the heart of the city again. And what a room! Sydney institution The Marble Bar, its glamour restored and furnishings updated not too long ago, normally hosts musical entertainment; Lisa Rathbone has persuaded them to vary the menu and offer a night of stand-up comedy every week on Tuesdays, starting at the perfect time to catch people needing their ribs tickled after work.

The opening night line-up was guaranteed to draw a crowd: headlined by UK legend John Moloney, MC’ed by the engaging David Smiedt, and ably supported by veteran mischief-maker Jackie Loeb and popular rising comic Jacques Barrett. A full house turned up in the mood for a good time. Many were pointing at the decor: perhaps, like me, they hadn’t been there for mumble years, and were impressed to see it looking swish and sounding mellow while a jazz duo provided the ambience. But there was far more to engage us than swanky marble pillars and OTT carved bar-shelves: we were amply supplied with comedians on top form and obviously having a great time on stage.

I’d like to try and establish a reputation as a bit of a tough reviewer, but this night didn’t offer me the opportunity to harumph at all! The energetic Smiedt as MC does a fine line in disarming self-deprecation, charming the audience with amusing trivia then slipping in neat puns and barbed twists, much to their delight. We learnt more about a few people in the audience than they probably really wanted everyone to know, because Smiedt is very difficult to refuse when he asks a question.

Barrett’s persona is more laid back while his material is more challenging, his play around stereotypes leading to stray moments of anxiety about where he might go next, yet he manages to stay mostly within the bounds of propriety.

Loeb, of course, bounces over those bounds right from the start. She doesn’t so much segue, rather dodges and reverse toe-loops from one topic to another, serving up an absurdist riff here and some physical comedy there, punctuated by flirting with faces in the crowd and her wicked vocal impressions of famous female singers. She actually made me cry from laughing with her Bassey, and I’ve seen it before! (except it’s got better).

After the break, where a few people decided that the front row was too much of a hot-seat and went to stand at the bar for the second half (I stayed put), there was a welcome return from Smiedt to introduce a British-style open-mic segment, where anyone from the audience had free rein to stand up and tell one joke. Such a novel concept for Australia elicited only one taker (and some numpty from the crowd spoiled the punchline (although that probably meant that the volunteer ended up with a bigger laugh for taking it well)). At least his volunteering meant that I didn’t have to push mio sposo on stage to regale all comers with the proper pronunciation of that extraordinarily long train-station name in Wales. Then it was time for John Moloney.

Renowned for his deadpan wit, Moloney is ever so slightly intimidatory in a not-quite-cuddly way. Perhaps it’s the way he just stands, waiting, for the crowd to catch up with him during one of the frequent pauses demanded by those trademark curly one-liners; plus Moloney all too obviously knows all the tools of rhetoric and is not afraid to use them (a young man in the back who was texting someone during Moloney’s set was bluntly chastised as a “rude fucker” in a brief tirade that was all the more stark for the dry under-emphasis). That sense of maybe-menace is one of those aspects of a performance which can’t be conveyed on the telly, and along with his - shall we say decided as well as droll - views on the royals, fully explains why he doesn’t grace Royal Command Performance shows. Having long been a fan, Moloney was all that I anticipated and more - consummately professional and sharper than a ribbon-winning sharp thing at a sharpening convention.

Then it was all over in time to get home and catch a good night’s sleep before work on Wednesday! I expect this room will go off like a rocket.

The line-up for the next few weeks is impressive. Once word gets around the space is sure to book up, especially as people realise how perfect the show’s timing is for an office Christmas party function.

Performance images courtesy Mediak Services and Michael Kery

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• Comedy@Marble Bar: Fiona O’Loughlin coming 28/10/08
• Reviews, week 3-9 November 2008