There are very few absolutes in the world of comedy, but one thing that rings resoundingly true is that what we each find funny is entirely subjective. If you’re tickled by traditional stand-up, punchlines and observations, let us stop you right here: this show ain’t for you. But if you’re intrigued by weird comedic realms of bizarre ditties, oddball characters and LOLs that wallop you from left of field, welcome to your new happy place.
Glanc isn’t like us. He really isn’t like anyone. Sure, there are surrealist skits aplenty at MICF, but Glanc’s singular imagination is a pinball machine of strange setups and stranger payoffs that defy anticipation in a way that is entirely his own. The gig flips the bird to the conventions of the average comedy show from the off, by beginning, well, before it actually begins, with a toe-tapping fast-food jingle brimming with audience participation that blindsides us before the acknowledgment of country has even been played. Whatever nods to the norm there may be are merely opportunities for Glanc to spin a gag in the opposite direction – even stepping onto the stage with an armful of props is a chance to make a joke.
But it’s not just the unpredictability of Glanc’s comedy that makes it one of a kind. His rubber-faced delivery – at once larger than life and yet intricate in its details – makes the near-constant shifts in tone and intention absolutely clear. It’s a level of control that allows him to dip occasionally into more emotionally sophisticated territory, such as a surprisingly touching song about being a lonely tree (no really, it’s actually quite beautiful).
That’s not to say that every moment of the show works. There are odd diversions that are so brief yet fussy that the polite chuckles they draw seem hardly worth the effort, and other sections that labour their point just a little too long. But Glanc didn’t come here to fuck spiders (although he does make quite a few jokes about wanting to fuck other things, just FYI). This is risk-taking comedy at its finest – bold, batshit, brilliantly bizarre, and while not every gamble pays off, there are surprising rewards for those willing to stay the course of this wild ride.
