David Quirk – Approaching Perfection

Image via MICF

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival program warns that David Quirk’s 2016 show Approaching Perfection includes ‘literal and figurative darkness’, and this could not be a more apt way to describe it.

Entering the colourful, faded clown-esque room at Roxanne wearing a black sheet in an attempt to blend in with the darkness, Quirk begins his show with some casual crowd work. From this point onwards, it is clear that his material is not going to contain light-hearted, laugh-out-loud fun; instead, his sense of humour is much more morbid, focusing on bleaker themes such as death, racism, and hangovers in Adelaide.

Approaching Perfection is a collection of recent stories and observations from Quirk’s life, delivered in a slightly sarcastic, droll tone. He speaks to his audience as though chatting to a group of friends, engaging everyone and creating an atmosphere of involvement despite not requiring any verbal responses from his listeners. One of the first things he does once he removes his sheet disguise is hand around a copy of his setlist to everyone in the audience. This provides a guide for his audience to easily identify the segments of his show, while also giving him an excuse to check his own setlist when needed. The setlist doesn’t give away any important jokes or punchlines, but it does demonstrate the effort Quirk has put into creating a well-structured and rehearsed show.

The way in which Quirk intertwines his stories and ties them all together is commendable. A story about visiting a pharmacy to buy some paracetamol provides a springboard for him to launch into a sweet, short-lived love story and elaborate on the fun, over-sharing relationship he has with his friend Caz. The Caz content provides a large part of the humour within the show, and it seems as though Quirk could dedicate an entire hour-long set to talking about his friend’s antics and still have a ton of leftover tales to share.

Quirk is a dry, honest comedian, with a lot of heart. He doesn’t seem to be playing a character on stage, or even trying to showcase his best qualities to come across as more likeable by a broader audience; instead, he tells the room exactly what he thinks and feels, and hopes that this style of comedy works out for him. And it absolutely does. There are no punchy one-liners or attempts to generate side-splitting laughter with an eagerly delivered joke, but it is the kind of show that keeps everyone in the audience amused and absorbed, and ready to hear more raw, unconventional comedic material.

The use of props is effective in that they add some interesting visual elements to break up the momentum of the show. Reading someone else’s text messages always feels a little intrusive and exciting, as though you’re privy to someone’s secret conversations, so having iPhone conversations blown up on A2 sheets of paper adds an extra kick to Quirk’s stories.

On his setlist, Quirk includes a note that says he wants his audience to leave the venue ‘smiling or feeling something’. If that is his main goal, then he has certainly achieved it. Approaching Perfection is not the kind of performance that punters will leave in hysterical laughter, but the thoughtful nature of the show will linger with audience members after they leave the building. While it doesn’t exactly reach perfection, it is an enjoyable and witty show filled with the type of low-key humour that can often miss the mark; but in Quirk’s case, it does not disappoint.

3 out of 5 stars