In the first few days of festival several friends and comedians had pointedly asked me if I was planning to see Josie Long and had assured me that when I did I would love her.
I love Josie Long.
The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into Josie’s show (if you’re observant) is that she has hand made badges and home made newsletters available to take home (which Josie refers to, not unjustifiably, as ‘treasures’). These are the most charming by-products of a festival show I’ve ever seen. In fact, I’m anticipating that next year mass produced badges will be out of vouge and we’ll see the likes of Dylan Moran spending hours sticky-taping safety pins to the backs of shakily cut out pieces of cardboard with obscure messages written on the front in biro. Take the time to check these out as the newsletter is also hilarious.
The title of this show, “Kindness and Exuberance” is perfectly appropriate as Josie Long seems to embody both those characteristics. She immediately ingratiates her audience in a way that bypasses sycophancy but rather uses genuine comedy constructs. In fact I was struck early on by the notion that Josie would make a fabulous performer for children for this very reason (kids are always the first to sniff out a fake) combined with her natural energy.
Josie intermittently uses visual aids in this show which she does to maximum potential. They become about the humour that Josie is about to spin into the image, rather than just the illustrations, which also happen to be hilarious in themselves. Local comedy punters will recognise shades of Melbourne’s Bec Hill in Josie’s work.
Josie plays with a kind of stupidity that goes beyond stupidity. She discusses the nuances of life from her vision in a way that both encompasses her audiences but also wanders way out into the left field. This show is self referential and meanders in and out of thoughts, always arriving at a unique conclusion. The performance qualities share the same attributes of script and the improvised moments are brilliant.
Josie does need a scolding though. This show started ten minutes late (almost certainly not Josie’s fault) but on top of that Josie ran a further fifteen minutes over (definitely her fault). She did admit to being overly exuberant towards the end of the show. But during festival, fifteen minutes over, especially on top of a late start, is a Cardinal sin. In fact the show would have profited well from being about fifteen minutes tighter.
However, that criticism aside, this is a bright, energetic, soul replenishing journey. At one point in the show Josie refers to herself as amateurish and shambolic, and in some ways she is both these things, in the best possible way. Josie Long is infectious, absurd, hand made and delicious. She is endearing from the outset and she also happens to be shit fuck funny.
Josie Long will be performing from Tuesday to Sunday until the 29th April. For booking details check out the comedy festival website