Type: Comedy Festival, Stand up
If You Liked: Gabbi Bolt, Mel & Sam, Bob Dylan, Audience Participation
Niche internet celebrity Sez flexes her comedic muscles once again in Sorry What?, her latest show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Readers on the slightly younger side may recognise Sez from her comprehensive reviews of toilets around Melbourne.
Sez has an infectious energy, settling any nerves an audience may have almost immediately. Laid back and relaxed, audiences can simply sit back and soak up the good vibes that Sez dishes out on stage.
Set in the basement room of The Victoria Hotel, I was getting major Bob Dylan vibes right from the get-go. All alone on stage with nothing but her instruments and a heart full of songs, Sez looks a little like Dylan in his younger days. But instead of grating harmonica solos, Sez regales us with songs about catching chlamydia from a sommelier at an Adelaide vineyard and being scouted for a weight-loss program at a pub.
Like anything truly good in life, Sorry, What? was borne from what Sez affectionately called a “menty b,” or a mental breakdown for those of you who are a little less hip. At yet another crossroads, the 27-year-old is just trying to put her life in order. And what better way to do that than through the power of song.
The show is largely built on audience participation, with Sez asking audience members questions and asking them to sing along with her at various points in the show. By virtue of her being a younger comedian, a crowd similar in age to Sez may get the most out of Sorry, What? But an older crowd can certainly find humour in the absurd life experiences that Sez bases her songs on.
Making a name for herself online before branching off into IRL comedy, Sez is adept at making people laugh. Like any comedian worth their chops, Sez plays off of the energy from the crowd, bringing them into the fold and making them part of the show. But it doesn’t come across forceful at all. While one or two audience members were a little hesitant to engage at first, Sez eventually won them over with her natural charm and friendliness. Rather than simply being a comedian out for laughs, she comes across as authentic and accommodating, as someone you can pal around and have a good time with.
Sez no doubt has a bright future in front of her. Events before the show had her a little frazzled before the stepped out on stage. Clutching her set list, it took Sez a minute or two to get and start performing. But she rolled with the punches and pulled off a thoroughly enjoyable show. If I had to find a fault in the show -which is no easy feat I might add – then it would be this tiny lapse in professionalism.
Lovers of musical comedy will get a real kick out of Sez’s latest show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. If you want to see a brilliant comedian on the rise, then be sure to book your tickets and get in on the ground floor.
See our other reviews from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for Sorry, What? at MICF 🎟️
The Victoria Hotel, Little Collins Street, Melbourne.
Tickets: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/sorry-what/
Ticket Prices: $27 – $34 Laugh Pack
Time: 7.40pm| 6.40pm
Duration: 50 minutes
