How long does it take to become a newcomer? On the comedy circuit, apparently it’s around eight years. At least that is how long Matt Okine had to strut his comic talents, from Triple J Raw finalist in 2004 to winning the Best Newcomer award at the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The award winning show Being Black N Chicken N Shit is now available on DVD.
Okine’s new show Happiness Not Included played at the Brisbane Comedy Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse to a warm and friendly home crowd. In it, he shares stories about his life post-uni as a Bachelor of Fine Arts – Acting no less.
This is the kind of stand-up routine you don’t see too often these days. No politics, no mean or offensive riffs on celebrity failings, and any references to social injustices are strictly limited to first world, middle-class problems.
Okine has a pleasing presence and a self-deprecating style that has earned him the soubriquet of ‘nice guy’ on the Triple J breakfast show he co-hosts with Alex Dyson. His observations of life as a semi-impoverished performing artist, from his one gig on Neighbours (he was kicked off for not providing his own wardrobe) to adventures with the Scottish version of Nando’s while performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, are wryly funny and familiar with just enough of a twist to keep a smile going, but rarely – in this outing at least – sharp enough to raise an actual laugh. Though I did chuckle at his demonstration of the pointlessness of the triple jump as a means of escape from dangerous situations.
In a world where comics often compete to out-gross each other, Okine’s more gentle, less abrasive humour provides a pleasant alternative. A smattering of local references kept the Brisbane audience feeling warm and fuzzy, although I suspect there may have been a few who, like me, could have done with just a touch of grit in the mix.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Happiness Not Included
Written and performed by Matt Okine
Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm
Brisbane Comedy Festival
www.brisbanepowerhouse.org
28 February – 2 March
