Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall, The Westin
They say you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
In Breaking the Fifth Wall, Australia’s queen of comedic PowerPoint presentations, Lou Wall, pushes to the outer limit. The result is akin to some wild fever dream, doom scrolling till the end of time.
This is a show about everything and nothing. Presenting a variety of situations from a hilarious turn of events following the selling of a mattress on Facebook Marketplace to performing at the Comedy Gala.
What makes this performance stand out is that it’s framed – like most comedy shows – to be reflective of the last 12 months of the comedian’s life. But nothing here is as it seems.
The evening is an exercise in trust; Wall presents to the audience a long list of situations and asks whether they are true.
It’s a highly original concept further strengthened by the many twists and turns, served up in one of the most confusing stand-up shows of recent years with Wall’s poker face even better than Natasha Lyonne’s.
Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall will be performed at The Westin until 15 April 2025 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
Eddie Pattison: Dad Genes, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
Eddie Pattison is a Brisbane expat, trans man and emerging comic. Their debut stand-up show, Dad Genes, not only brims with hilarity and darkness, it leaves no traces of doubt that they will have a long and promising career in comedy.
Pattison mixes humour with heavier themes, including sharing their experience in the early days of their transition all the while their dad is dying from prostate cancer.
This show exudes confidence and vulnerability and is truly special. As with most years, Pattison is one of a very small cohort of trans or non-binary comics within the Festival. Their lived experience is the kind of story we desperately need. The world is so busy debating trans lives while remaining unable to listen to people whose lives are the actual subject of discussion.
Read: Comedy review: He Huang: White Man’s Burden, Portrait Room, Town Hall, MICF 2025
As far as debuts go Dad Genes is as good as it gets. Sometimes the joy of MICF is discovering new talent and Pattison is certainly one to watch.
Eddie Pattison: Dad Genes will be performed at The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre until 11 April 2025 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
