The Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library Of Victoria
Reviewed on April 12, 2013
There is no doubt rising local star Josh Earl is a triple threat.
Currently touring with two very different and equally unique shows, the talented stand – up comic, writer and musician, has a knack for taking one idea and developing an entire routine around a single theme.
“Josh Earl versus The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book” was one of the surprise highlights from the 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Back for a return season in 2013, Earl’s act traces parallel lines between growing up in Burnie, Tasmania and the yearly birthday cakes, family situations and celebrations that defined his formative years.
This ingenious show has broad appeal for everyone, from nostalgic Baby Boomers to ageing Gen Y hipsters. Earl’s self-deprecating anecdotes are intertwined with slides and tuneful, catchy and manic songs he wrote himself.
Hot on the heels of that interactive experience, “Josh Earl is a Librarian” ramps up the humor with fresh tales of love gone wrong, awkward yet inspired walks of shame, career pratfalls, inside jokes, and a handful of new music delivered at crackerjack speed to keep you laughing.
Built around the Dewey Decimal System, Earl relishes key points from the catalogue with spark, enthusiasm, and boyish charm. Covering topics from ‘The Ethics of Family Relationships’, ‘Religion’, and ‘Sexuality’, no theoretical page is left unturned.
That this show also details his career as a school librarian and beyond, Earl takes advantage of the source material’s comic potential early, never relinquishing it once in the 60 – minute format.
Asking if there are any other librarians in the audience, Earl quickly builds rapport. With that knowledge in his corner, he had our mutual appreciation, support and understanding right off the bat.
Further, not only is Earl’s show staged in the Melbourne State Library’s Village Roadshow auditorium, he currently works as that library’s schools’ group tour coordinator, too.
Earl’s revelation leads to a particularly funny episode; he has to tell a pair of older Italian men to keep their voices down during a rowdy chess match in the upstairs games room. Then, with wry reference to The Godfather, Earl produces a plastic oversized knight they had later left in his bed.
A second show – stopping moment is when Earl recreates doing time writing for Penthouse magazine. Unlike its American cousin, nobody here actually buys the publication for the articles or essays. So, with his dreams of becoming another David Sedaris quashed, Earl suffers further humiliation forced to host their annual Christmas party.
Jam – packed with personal flashbacks everyone can relate to, Earl’s relaxed style is both accessible and cerebral. The secret life of a bibliophile never looked sweeter.
Image Source: Devotee Podcast