We all know that comedy is about timing. And… that outdoor venues are about the weather. It’s been a soggy, enervating week in Sydney . What a delight then for the stars to align on a calm Friday night after a sunny day as we wait in Hyde Park for the late show, THE INVISIBLE DOT CABARET.
It’s nice here. Calm, dry weather and The Sydney Festival has created a lovely village green as the waiting space. It’s big; there are deck chairs, great food and good wine, and a terrific band or a library if you prefer. So nice to have a calm, relaxed catch-up before we wander off to the Famous Spiegeltent . Actually I could use a nap now… it’s late and it really has been a long week. With impeccable timing, just as I’m thinking this, UK comedian and host Josie Long hits the stage.
INVISIBLE DOT CABARET has a reputation for putting cutting edge comics together in a mix and match show. Tonight’s bill is no exception as introduced by Long who has a conversational, anecdotal style as she explains the bandage on her knee and her response to our city when the rain lifted. “The most beautiful city is the world” is appreciated by the audience who warm quickly to the host who cleverly explains that last night’s audience were stiff fish and we by contrast, are just wonderful.
First up is James Acaster, a Brit who has been twice nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Currently caffeine-free, it doesn’t show as he relates a tale of a honey scam he was involved in. Yep. Honey scam is correct. Then he does a lovely mime of a supermarket conveyor belt barrier that was my friend’s joke of the night.
Following on is local comedian Sam Campbell, the Triple J regular, with an hilariously bewildering ditty about Mums vs Dads. He has a laconic way about him as he hurls random and unconnected epithets which just hang in the air. This juxtaposes nicely with Long’s revving of the crowd to give a Viking wall of welcome to next act up: Canadian Mae Martin.
Martin is a stand-up dynamo as she riffs on relationships, gender and sexuality without being coarse or graphic. Her peach anecdote is the joke of the night for me and most of the audience who, after a huge belly laugh, seemed to be chuckling and nudging their friends for ages after. Perfectly set up and placed by a master who has been doing comedy routines since the age of 13, I’m still grinning at it.
Aussie improviser Steen Raskopoulos is the final act of the evening, though really he is the final acts (plural). His set is a series of skits unrelated to each other and separated by some pretty dodgy blackouts. He is charming as he wanders into the audience who are responsive and engaged even when he leads them in the chorus of “Let it Go”.
As Josie Long farewells us with a “Go home, it’s midnight.” we waft out into the lovely January night. With forecasts of clear weather until their run ends on Jan 17, there is no better way to cap off your day than seeing this show and hanging in the Festival Village. Forget the nap, The Invisible Dot will make the late night worth the effort.
THE INVISIBLE DOT CABARET continues as part of the SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2016 until 17th January at the The Famous Spiegeltent, Meriton Festival Village, Hyde Park.