“I'm slightly out of my element here. I've never performed on top of grass before,” quips David O'Doherty at the start of his show (18 March).
Performing inside a large tent on the lawn of the Brisbane Powerhouse, David O'Doherty brought his new show, 'We Are All In The Gutter But Some Of Us Are Looking At David O'Doherty' to the Brisbane Comedy Festival.
O'Doherty launches into his show head first, taking to the stage with his signature Casio keyboard and seamlessly ad-libbing about the venue and the steps he's taken in his career.
O'Doherty performs a loose, but professionally crafted show with plenty of room for tangents and to deal with the unexpected. Having to contend with an unusual venue, a loud air conditioner and even a small beetle that attacked him (which he named Megan with help from the audience), every distraction was an opportunity for hilarity.
While the raw nature of the improvised material certainly breathed a lot of life into the show, the pre-prepared material was just as exciting. A slight departure from previous shows that tend to be fairly Casio keyboard focused, O'Doherty instead chooses to spend a decent amount of time engaging with a more straight forward version of stand-up.
This is not to suggest that this is in any way less whimsical or irreverent, but instead shows a maturity that O'Doherty has grown into as a performer.
The over-arching theme of the show seemed to be dealing with the discontentment of modern life. O'Doherty deals with consumerism, cynicism and the existential nagging that plagues us all, and he does so with a zany style and charm.
In among this, he's able to place asides about app ideas, obscure 'Star Wars' figurines and the occasional silly song (including a great one about 'Grand Designs').
O'Doherty is an engaging, seasoned performer. While running just over an hour, the entire show seems to fly by with the audience enjoying every moment of it.
Entertaining and just plain fun, O'Doherty is a must-see act.
David O'Doherty performs at the Brisbane Powerhouse until 20 March.
