Melbourne, is it possible that we might be taking Tom Ballard for granted? He is a comedy scene mainstay bordering on veteran – given how much he has packed into his prodigious career, it is mildly astonishing that he is 33 – the attendance at his show tonight is perfectly respectable but frankly disproportionate to the quality on display.
Anyone assuming they would be in for a variation on a political rant they’ve seen before might be pleasantly surprised by the more personal nature of this show, noting that the ever-righteously indignant Ballard does not spare the horses (quite literally at one point) when taking aim at his bête noires.
He mines some excellent material from the underwhelming impact of his stand-up special (tragically available on Paramount+) and his recent book (which inspires some masterful interaction with the sole member of the crowd who bought it) as well as society’s apparent determination to regress to 2002 while simultaneously going all in on AI.
Meanwhile, an extended routine on Australia’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach to aged care builds to a dark and delirious crescendo that provides a litmus test for who in the room is fully on board for Ballard’s strafing, unsparing approach. His thoughts on the late George Pell, Rupert Murdoch and Australia’s (ahem) biggest billionaires will not surprise anyone familiar with his previous work, with the only question being how far he’ll go (spoiler alert: far out, pretty far).
The most consistent target throughout is the late Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy in general, which could make this a dicey proposition for a multi-generational night out. The scale of the reaction to her death last year may be a somewhat obvious target, but Ballard amply justifies his effective and consistently entertaining insurgency.
Previous shows have been marvels of multimedia, but this is uncut, sweaty, manic Ballard, with nothing to distract from the power and the fury of his performance. Somehow his mic-bashing is more endearing than unsettling, a testament to the deftness of his timing and self-deprecation and the remarkable strength of his writing – no tag is wasted as he pummels the audience with extra punchlines that are all worth the considerable effort.
It makes for a raucous hour with a surprisingly sweet throughline as Ballard ultimately pays tribute to his recently departed centenarian grandmother. Who would have hated this, obviously.
Performing until April 23, book tickets to see It Is I on the MICF website here.