DeAnne Smith loves to poke fun. She pokes fun subtly. She pokes fun with as much full-on intensity too and there’s a bit of intriguing wit in there as well while we are at it.
The title of her show, Post-Joke Era is a simple phrase which kind of encapsulates what is all shitty with society. Quips about white privilege, Trump and the political crapness that comes with it all infuse her show in a sharp stingy way. Quips about hipsters, however, sound like we’ve heard it all before.
But Smith never shies away from herself as a target as well. Which pulls the jokes from a high and mighty ‘look at me preaching to you’ mode to a more palatable level where we see a humble comedian making fun of how life is.
The familiarity she has grabbed Australian audiences over the years has shined in this show as well, in that she engages closely with the audience. Not in a mocking way, but with enough smirk that she can get away with giving barbs to constant interruptions from the audience.
While this sometimes felt a little uncomfortable, Smith never feels like it’s out of her control, and deals with such murky audience members like it’s nothing. It’s a display of her effervescent stage presence that makes Post-Joke Era a delight to watch while the world burns.
DeAnne Smith’s Post-Joke Era is playing until April 23rd at Taxi Riverside as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Get more info here.
The reviewer attended the show on April 6th
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