Michelle Braiser is already on stage when you enter her 2021 comedy festival show, Average Bear. Or rather, Michelle Brasier as a bear is on stage because it turns out the name of the show is also the name of her ursine alter ego (first name Average, last name Bear).
Because it turns out that we have not come to a comedy show, but to pre-drinks for hibernation; hibernation being analogous to clubbing in this scenario, Wet Pussy shots and all. Average Bear is an hour or so of autobiographical storytelling punctuated by Brasier’s penchant for songs (both raunchy and ridiculous), dramatic imagination, gruesome anecdotes and unexpectedly heartfelt messages. This is a salty-sweet packet of popcorn kind of show, with Brasier’s boppy energy luring you in before going right for the emotional jugular.
As Brasier begins her story – Average Bear is by and large the one story – we learn about a seemingly idyllic childhood in which any drama had to be created by herself. The audience laps up Braiser’s sly quips and witticisms; it’s apparent many know her from her work in television. As we move through her youth (and without giving too much away) we come to a particularly visceral story that forms the core of Average Bear. Yet even this skin-crawling scenario (which features a marshmallow bowl, a possum and a nurse that may or may not be a Hemsworth) is told expertly to a giggling audience.
So engaging is Brasier’s storytelling that we don’t see the drop coming, and when it does, it has an audible effect on the crowd. No, not laughter – there are sniffles throughout as the audience processes what Braiser is saying and I have the sudden urge to go home and hug a loved one.
So what about the bear? Think of the character, Average Bear, as a metaphor, albeit an absurd and strangely beautiful one. You’ll leave the show having laughed, but also with a stronger appreciation of life and what makes it worthwhile.
Recommended: we spoke to Brasier in the lead up to MICF 2021.
