You get the feeling that Laura Davis probably knows quite a bit about the topic of her show, Despair is Beneath Us. The rapid-fire performer with the eclectic references and somewhat manic approach has clearly fielded plenty of scrutiny and unhelpful challenges along the road, but she’s faced them with her killer secret weapon – her ability to find the funny.
With an original wit and an always incisive view of the world, Davis delivers her material at speed and with little time to draw breath, though the frequent trips to the water bottle provide her with the necessary respite to recharge and launch back into the stream.
There is also frequent hair tugging – a trait shared with Geraldine Hickey. It would be interesting to see if any studies have been done on those comedians who have to continually rake their fingers through their mops, rub their faces or otherwise dissipate some of that surging energy through an interaction with their own faces – and how they’d cope if they were forced to keep their hands away from their bodies.
Also, having not seen Laura Davis before, this reviewer isn’t sure if the regular note checking is just because this is a new show that hasn’t quite found its feet as yet, or if it’s a performance tic/crutch that helps Davis to focus. Either way, the routine really comes alive when the papers are ignored and Davis is able to look the audience in its collective eye and deliver the zingers straight to us.
Read: Comedy reviews: Zoë Coombs Marr: The Splash Zone, Powder Room, Town Hall, MICF 2025
And, maybe this is just me hoping for the moon, but it would be wonderful to get a little more helpful advice about despair and why it really is beneath us, earlier in the show.
Tickets: $20-$30
Laura Davis: Despair is Beneath Us will be performed in the The Greek – Paw Paw Jump, 272 Russell Street until 20 April 2025 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
