Alex Ward is back in her home town for the Brisbane Comedy Festival, with her hour of stand-up, No Flirting. Alex’s show is the comedy equivalent of being a little too honest after a few drinks with your girlfriends. She talks relationships, insecurities, family and does not spare the crowd the awkwardness of everyday life. However most importantly, she makes the room erupt with laughter as any good comedian should.
She opens the show with a story of a seven-hour flight from Sydney to Brisbane. Why did it take seven hours you ask? Tropical Queensland storms forced the plane to turn around and return later, causing Alex to miss her slot in the festival variety show. However, she goes on to tell the audience she spent the seven hours seated next to a man who is a self-claimed Viking. As she explains, trying to pretend to be interested in ancient Viking culture for seven hours is a challenge. When the man starts to tell Alex that he is in an open relationship however, she wishes to be conversing about Viking culture again.
We have all been there – maybe not exactly there, but we have all had to sit through a flight next to a stranger who told us perhaps more about themselves, than we wanted to know.
That is the beauty of Alex’s performance – she is relatable. When basing a show off deeply personal experiences, relatability and likability are crucial elements. Thankfully Alex showcases both qualities and when the opportunity arose for audience interaction, she took it with gumption and proved herself as a performer.
The show unfolds as a testament to the insecurities we all often feel in a relationship and the awkwardness of life in the 21st Century. She pokes fun at the audience, at modern stereotypes like ‘dog mums’, at the weird and wonderful, but none without the grace of poking fun at herself first.
It was a truly hilarious and original performance with genuinely laugh-out-loud moments.
Readers also enjoyed this story about Single Asian Female.
