David Quirk’s show is named Kathleen Grace after his mother. But don’t expect a parental tribute show from Quirk, this show has nothing whatsoever to do with his mum.
The tiny Carpet Room at The Forum was full to overflowing last night; the show was a little late in starting while more seats were found to wedge in the waiting punters. This is always a good sign at a festival show and helps to lift the spirits of the performer, even with the distracting ambient sounds of serious construction in Flinders Street wafting in through the window. Not that Quirk is really a spirit-lifting type anyway. Quirk walks his own path and dishes up dark and dangerous comedy. The topics he covers aren’t new: relationships, beauty, bad song lyrics, suicide. But what he does with that material is refreshingly risky; he successfully sharpens the edges and at the same time blurs the boundaries between humour and shock. Quirk doesn’t shy away from serving up some confronting observations and reflections and his honesty and make-no-apologies attitude ensure he can pull it off.
Quirk’s edgy but he throws in enough light moments to allow us to see that he isn’t some morose freak with a completely disturbed mind – he’s just giving voice to some social taboos and punctuating these statements with a don’t-say-you-haven’t-thought-it attitude. Quirk’s show is not themed; this is an hour of solid stand-up woven together quite well. He’s thrown in the odd surprise which I won’t ruin for you, but unfortunately he lost his way a little there and as a result this moment didn’t have the impact it should have. This isn’t the smoothest show I’ve seen and Quirk isn’t one to have you cracking up in the aisles but if you like your comedy skewed and your laughs mixed up with gasps then Kathleen Grace is a show well worth checking out and Quirk is certainly a talent to keep your eye on.
View the comedy festival website for bookings and further details