Shappi Khorsandi admits to a clunky start. A meandering chat about whether or not to wear her glasses is not a dazzling way to kick things off.
Luckily, she quickly gets things on track.
Some audience interaction (this time with a lesbian choir) seems to shake off the jetlag for this Iranian-born, British comedian, as she urgently leaps from one tangent to the next. It’s the perfect set for short-attention spans.
The show consists mostly of humorous observations from her daily life, such as her difficult relationship with best friend Penny (who features a little too much early on), to the challenges of single motherhood, breast-feeding, and Twitter trolls.
She’s honest about her screw-ups and the audience warm to her self-deprecation, although some of this material feels a little too safe. Khorsandi admits that she is instinctively polite, but it is when she pushes the boundaries of taste that this show comes alive.
Khorsandi says she only recently started talking about sex, but it is by far her funniest material. At times it feels like she is testing the audience, to see how far she can go with vivid references to bestiality and extreme sex. Her frank confession of horniness during pregnancy is hilarious, with a search for hard-core porn taking her to the dark recesses of the Internet. Her channelling of a drug addled, forty-something ‘schoolgirl’ porn actress is perfect.
The show also hits some serious subjects. Growing up Iranian in Britain, Khorsandi experienced racism first-hand. Some of the stories leave the audience stunned at the bigoted attitudes, but these are smartly wound into an engrossing tale of vengeance, meted out on a London train years later.
While the tone varies, most of the material is accessible. Her sharp observations of hens’ nights and the myth of the Disney inspired princess bride are biting and relatable, even for men in the audience. Likewise, many Australians know the migrant family experience and can easily relate to her cringe-worthy tales of trying to fit in.
Shappi Khorsandi is someone you want to cheer for: charming, smart and with genuine warmth. When she’s good, she’s very good. But when she’s bad, she’s even better.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars
Shappi Khorsandi
Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston St
www.comedyfestival.com.au
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
27 March – 13 April
