Firstly, if you’re after a reminder of how out of shape you are, taking the trek up the stairs to the Jade Room in the Chinese Museum will do the trick. Secondly, while that trek was arduous, it's definitely worth the sore legs to see comedian Bronwyn Kuss.
Kuss made her MICF debut last year in a split bill show, but this year, she’s debuting her first-ever solo show, Any Goss? As she takes the stage, decked out in a Willie Nelson shirt, she kicks things off by revealing she’s fresh out of isolation after a bout of Covid. Don’t worry; she’s just as uncertain as you are about whether it’s safe, but hey, the government said she could take the stage again, so the show must go on.
Her set, which tackles everything from tampons and sex trafficking to the problematic storylines of Home and Away, is delivered in a wry, self-deprecating style. She often makes fun of her own misadventures and admittedly poor life choices, but without being so self-deprecating that you pity her. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: there’s a bit of swagger to Kuss, in how she commands the stage and in the dry, confident way she delivers her jokes.
A few years ago, I found myself at a comedy set at the Rochey and Kuss was among the line-up of comedians who briefly took the stage. So admittedly, I have heard some of the bits in this show before, but it was clear that Kuss had worked on it in the time since. The delivery has been tightened and the payoff was far more rewarding.
“Energy can’t be created or destroyed, but it sure can be misplaced,” says Kuss, in reference to the amount of time she spent researching problematic storylines in Home and Away, but when it comes to this show, Kuss’s energy was put to good use.
Want to know which shows have us LOLing in the aisles this year? Check out our guide to Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2022.
