OBSERVER: Okay, Wow
The title of Luke McGregor’s routine at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Okay, Wow, encapsulates both the ordinary and the sensational and sums up his routine.
The topics he addresses are almost mundane but broach, at times, the extraordinary and that which is taboo.
Challenging those convinced the earth is flat speaks to the divide in the community where facts are suspended and nonsense reigns.
Talking about the phone sex he has with his wife is both understandable and ridiculous.
Luke makes it perfectly ordinary given he is on tour without intimate interaction with his wife but it broaches on the perverse given the travails of modern day technology.
And it is this ability to tackle topics that are highly emotive and controversial that makes McGregor’s comedy so engaging.
His shtick is so disarming that there is no question of things being politically incorrect.
They are, in fact, part of everyday life. Autism, being non-binary and bodily functions are all fodder for fun. They are all understandable.
McGregor has the ability to bring the audience with him and you wonder if this is a practiced art or simply something that evolves given it is so natural.
His ‘thanks for coming’ opening where the phrase is repeated speaks to awkwardness but it is undeniably human.
To that end, we accept the stories and situations he recounts finding the ridiculousness in it all – the lesson being, we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously.
Review by David McLean