A 36-year-old comedian who has never been in a relationship meets a prospective Mr Right. The only problem is that they are about to kill their new boyfriend. So begins Marcelo Dos Santos’ brilliant new comedy, the awkwardly titled Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen. It’s expertly performed by English actor Samuel Barnett.
The stage is set up for a night of comedy with a microphone and a brightly lit set. Barnett charges on to the stage and the night starts like a regular stand-up show with some opening jokes. However, it quickly changes into a confessional about the unnamed main character’s neurotic personality and their experience of hook-up culture.
The story is cleverly constructed as pieces of the new relationship with ‘The American’ are gradually placed together. An underlying darkness suffuses the story, a foreboding that something terrible is indeed going to happen. Barnett’s character suffers from anxiety and feeling that they’re not good enough to be loved by anyone. Instead, they find sexual fulfillment using a hook-up app that doesn’t require any form of commitment. This insecurity comes through in the self-sabotaging approach that they take when finally meeting a potential Mr Right.Â
Mental health issues are approached in a thoughtful and intelligent way, with the concept of comedy as a coping mechanism for trauma and sadness central to the narrator’s story and character. It both provides the basis for a lot of his humour, but also works as self-directed therapy.Â
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Barnett’s performance is so natural and believable that Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen feels like an autobiographical story rather than a scripted one. He has an endearing and charismatic stage presence and the gags are very funny, with some memorable punchlines. Occasionally, certain darker moments don’t quite work and feel like unnecessary shock tactics but otherwise, Dos Santos’ writing is hard to fault.Â
The build-up of underlying tension throughout results in a well-thought-out and executed ending that brings the show to a satisfying conclusion.
Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen by Marcelo Dos Santos
Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne
Director: Matthew Xia
Performer: Samuel Barnett
Tickets: $34-$69
Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen will be performed until 1 February as part of Midsumma Festival 2025.
