Watching a Joel Creasey show is like attending a dinner party with the lovechild of Kathy Griffin and Mr G. from Summer Heights High. He has a conversational style of humour full of razor-sharp quips and gossipy observations, delivered with a perpetually limp wrist and trademark nasal twang.
Throughout the one-hour set Creasey addressed his fears – from an irrational fear of feet to the universal fears of death, public speaking and, as you’ve probably guessed, public nudity. However, the title ‘Naked’ isn’t intended only literally – the show was also about Creasey revealing his character and purging a few skeletons from his closet. Naked was more personal than Creasey’s previous shows – he shared witty anecdotes about growing up gay in Perth, being a prima donna drama-captain in high school, and being dumped by his first boyfriend at age 18. Creasey’s experiences touring Australia as a stand-up comic were a particular highlight – including his run-in with the Sydney Swans at Melbourne airport and being chased out of Victorian country town Colac after performing at an anti-homophobia gig. Of course, there was also gossip and gushing over a checklist of gay icons including Celine Dion, Meryl Streep, Whitney Houston and 90’s babe Xena the Warrior Princess.
Creasey seemed to feel at home in the small, intimate Astor Lounge space and the show felt well-oiled after touring Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. There were some laugh-out loud moments dotted throughout – but for the most part I found myself sniggering at the bitchy brand of humour. Creasey overworked the ‘camp’ gag at times, too – using it as a bit of a crutch for laughs. This caused the show to feel a little one-note toward the end.
Still, it’s exciting to watch someone as young as Creasey with so much natural talent and confidence on stage. In short, Naked is funny, engaging and revealing – both literally and metaphorically.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Joel Creasey – Naked
Astor Lounge, Mt Lawley
May 16 – 19
Perth International Comedy Festival
May 2 – 20
