Type: Stand Up, Dramatic Comedy
If You Liked: Hannah Gadsby, Anisa Nandaula, Gillian Cosgriff
One of the exciting and fun things about festivals like the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is finally getting along to see an artist you’ve heard about for years, seen snippets of on YouTube, but never managed to see. Nikki Britton is one of these fabulous festival moments for me.
Britton has become a solid part of the Australian comedy scene, with consistently sold-out and award-winning stand-up comedy shows across Australian comedy festivals. She has also gained notoriety across the world, including the Busan Comedy Festival (South Korea), Bengaluru Comedy Festival (India), the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and venues across the US. When you don’t find Britton bouncing around on stage encouraging her late arrivals to the front, you might recognise her voice on podcasts, or perhaps as a guest artist or actress on stage and screen.
After a two-year absence, Britton is back at the MICF with a brand-new show, Not To Be Dramatic, where she talks about attempting to “learn your worth” and how that will ruin being known as the loveable drunk slut and the single friend reporting back, so she saves marriages. Learning her worth leads to a full-blown crisis of identity (with the stress and impact of AI on her employment and job applications thrown in for good measure) and being accused of being too dramatic. However, Britton argues she’s not dramatic; she just cares deeply with a face that still moves!
Not To Be Dramatic takes the audience on a journey exploring what is self-worth and self-care. Britton cleverly weaves in stories that show how drama tends to find her, using her proudly non-Botox facial lines and scars. Notably, she shares highly relatable stories such as the Australian Women’s Weekly Cake Book (a must in every Aussie home), experiencing her mother’s Spinach Cob Loaf that changed her life, and the moment she was on a TV set and caught the scent of a tree well known by Melbournians for its distinctive masculine smell.
Nikki Britton and Not To Be Dramatic did not disappoint. Clever as it is, engaging and energetic from start to finish. A brilliant writer and storyteller, her highly relatable comedy style puts audience members at ease immediately and shows off a fabulously funny and strong ability to think quickly when audiences choose to get involved in her storytelling. You’ll leave feeling like you’ve just had a great night with friends where nothing was off limits, and of course, it wouldn’t be a Nikki Britton show if it wasn’t just a little bit dramatic!
See our other reviews from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for Not To Be Dramatic at MICF 🎟️
Ticket: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/not-to-be-dramatic/
Ticket Prices: $30 – $36 Laugh Pack
Time: 7.10pm| 6.10pm
Venue: QT Melbourne – Barclay Room
Duration: 60 minutes
Suitable for audiences 15+: Language – occasional coarse language
