Kitty Flanagan, stand-up comedian and Full Frontal alum, brings her show Hello Kitty Flanagan to the Athenaeum for this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Flanagan begins her show with an apology, which is good, because unfortunately, despite Flanagan’s pedigree and long history of performing, there is disappointingly little in this show to recommend.
If there is one word to describe Kitty Flanagan’s material, it is ‘Obvious’. This is standard gripe-comedy fare, as illustrated by the list of things which Flanagan has a beef with: screaming babies on aeroplanes, underdressed Teenagers These Days, smug pregnant women, sexist hip-hop videos, people who think their children are ‘gifted’, French experimental theatre, and panhandling junkies.
Flanagan might not have actually uttered the words ‘What is the deal with…’ but they floated over the proceedings like the tired ghost of something that was once funny 100 years ago. Throw in a few gags about how women are bad at directions and some rather mean-spirited mockery of burlesque, and you’ve got a recipe for thumb-twiddling.
Not that Flanagan’s show is entirely without humour: there were certainly a few laughs to be had. For example, her impression of a teenager in skyscraper heels clumping unsexily like one of the Thunderbirds, or her spot-on creaking old lady narrating the plot in a movie theatre. Unfortunately, each actually-funny throw-away line or humorous demonstration was preceeded by a tedious setup, telegraphed several miles ahead. That said, it must be acknowledged that Flanagan’s audience seemed to be having a lovely time, launching into spontaneous claps here and there, laughing their heads off and nodding along sagely to Flanagan’s suggestion that people who dither at traffic lights are annoying.
Flanagan’s other staple topic is her own mild OCD. You know that thing you vaguely wish people wouldn’t do? It drives her insane. People talking on their phone on the tram. People chewing loudly. People whose noses whistle. If you were a psychologist, you could be forgiven for instantly diagnosing her with an unusually comedic case of misophonia. Sadly, though it’s not always unfunny, it’s neither complex nor original.
Flanagan does excellent impressions, and her singing voice is quite good (which she showed off with the help of singer-songwriter sister Penny Flanagan); unfortunately, she chose to showcase this skill in a duet called ‘(If You’re The Only One Talking) Shut Up!’, the irony of which was molten. And as my companion said, ‘She uses her impressions for mediocrity instead of evil’.
In short, this is middle-of-the-brow comedy, fuelled by unoriginal topics, intermittently funny but mostly tiresome, and too sweary to take your Gran to. Nice and safe for out-of-town cousins, though.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Kitty Flanagan – Hello Kitty Flanagan
Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
9 – 21 April
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
www.comedyfestival.com.au
27 March – 21 April
