Review: Fiona O’Loughlin @ Marble Bar
DATE: 28/10/08
SUPPORTED BY: James Rochford, Matt Dyktynski & MC David Smiedt
On its second ever comedy show, the Marble Bar sold out and was standing room only. Given that there’s a nice long bar to lean on, standing room isn’t too bad at all! The night began with a soft jazz musical act to wind the crowd down a bit after their day at work, this week guitarist Roger Black did the mellow honours. Then it was on with the funnies.
Every mum in Australia should be grateful to Fiona O’Loughlin for showing that mothering doesn’t have to be taken oh so seriously. By her own report her style of parenting evokes the escapades of a St-Trinian’s-4th-former, which must startle the neighbours at times. O’Loughlin claims to not make anything up because she says she can’t write, so she just tells real stories.
Cynic that I am, I strongly suspect that occasional events may just be a wee bit exaggerated for effect, and that her children do in fact not run entirely feral while she just drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney, but who cares when the anecdotes are delivered so charmingly and with such scalpel precision in structure and timing? She made the whole room absolutely roar with laughter.
Featured support act Matt Dyktynski, now resident in the UK, hails from WA and was preparing to head back there this week for the Wild West Comedy Fest (O’Loughlin’s performing there too). Originally an actor (NIDA-trained and all), Dyktynski was wickedly amusing, with a routine that twists all over the place. You know a comic is good when he’s been throwing out solid punchlines for 10 minutes before he even starts on the comedy gold that is the combination of a Polish father and a mother from Northern Lancashire. His opinions on inspirational tales of survival should be force-fed to all television producers, just for a start.
Rising Sydney comic James Rochford, familiar to some from stints on 2DAY-FM and Ralph-TV, also pleased the crowd with his strong sense of physical comedy, a few appallingly dodgy anecdotes and some truly outrageous puns. It’s a bit hard to describe more without giving away too many spoilers, but the audience definitely would have listened to more when his time came up.
MC Smiedt again held the night together, eliciting even more unexpected revelations from the audience this week, tying the strands together as he went through his routine, coming back to explore those answers when they least expected it. He was also coping with having his mother and sister plus other relatives in the front row, listening to him blather on about sex. Not easy! I’m not sure that the psychologist chap will ever forgive him, although the couple who’d been together for 32 years seemed like they wanted to file adoption papers and take him home.
Fiona O’Loughlin is on tour around the country, Matt Dyktynski is on the move as well. James Rochford and David Smiedt appear regularly around Sydney’s comedy clubs and occasionally venture further afield. All are well worth catching.
This week’s show at the Marble Bar has The Axis of Awesome headlining, supported by Ray Badran, Jay Sullivan and anchored by resident MC David Smiedt. There’s a bit of a Melbourne Cup theme to the evening, so get out those hats and fascinators.
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