Mel Sargeant’s Judgemental could one day become a good show – but it’s far from that point at this stage. This show just screams unfinished.
This show is about all aspects of Australian law, with some really interesting historical points and amusing cases to explore and suprisingly interesting game segment, but Mel has tried to cram too much into this show, and in doing so forces herself to run roughshod over her material. In her own words, she’s “so passionate about the material, she doesn’t know what not to put in” – and sadly it shows.
Rather than letting the stories flow naturally, Mel has tied herself down with the delivery technique of a bad lecturer. Running through text-heavy point-form cards, reading lines exactly as they’re written, Mel uses the cards not to emphasise her point but as a teleprompter, which leaves her back to the audience as soon as nervousness sets in.
There’s some really biting political commentary crammed in here – manipulation of our constitution, notions of punishment and the industrial relations laws – but Mel seems to try and hold herself back, at one point mumbling to herself “it’s getting too political”, despite the fact that her political passion is one of the driving forces behind the show.
Mel’s always been one for working out her material on stage, but I doubt she’ll be able to pull this beast together before Fringe winds up. Hopefully by the time the Comedy Festival comes around, Mel will have figured out what she wants to do with this show. There’s some good material here, but April isn’t that far away.