GERALDINE HICKEY (AUS) - Melbourne International Comedy Festival / by Stephanie Puls

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I’ve seen Geraldine a few times in the past so I know how good she can be. Unfortunately her show this year is good Geraldine but not great Geraldine.

There was some minor first show problems that didn’t help (an IT issue that saw a big screen that would later be used to great effect light up at the wrong moments and the fact there was no ushers to ensure seats near the front were full) but I think Geraldine’s material isn’t as strong this year too.

Her opening gambit took a long time to pay off into laughs which Geraldine herself acknowledged when she wondered aloud, “Is anyone relating to this at all?”

Later in the show when she talked about Christmas, in-laws and gifts saw her soar to the great heights I’ve seen in the past. The small crowd, which we later discovered included said in-laws, really enjoyed this material and gave her the ‘I can relate to that’ laughs she wanted earlier.

I took along a friend who enjoyed the show and said she’d give it 3.5 stars out of 5 but noted that one of those stars is earned simply by getting her out of the house and away from her three children! For me this is more like a 2.5 star show.

Get the details of Geraldine’s show here.