How can you tell if your partner is about to propose? Terri Psiakis offers some helpful insight, but probably wishes someone had given her the heads-up before her bloke popped the question last year.
You might have heard that at the 2005 Melbourne Comedy Festival, Psiakis was Available. Last year she was Unavailable, and this time she Has Pending Nuptials. Her new show is the final part in a trilogy – but a good trilogy, she explains, not a Jurassic Park-style trilogy where no-one knew there was a third film.
This really is an hour of jokes about planning a wedding, and I must admit to some scepticism on realising she didn’t plan to use this theme as a springboard into observations on politics or popular culture. But Psiakis has made a good choice: she covers all the myriad details of said pending nuptials to form a cohesive show.
She deftly skewers anyone who takes wedding preparation too seriously. From people who think the size of the engagement ring matters more than its style – having a bigger rock won’t get you a seat on the tram, she explains – to the sales assistants who call a wedding dress a gown, no-one escapes.
Impersonations are a strength, with subtle but very believable imitations of her father, Shaz at the jewellery shop Chic As, and Barbara the wedding celebrant. And although she refers to her fiancé only as The Bloke, she nicely evokes his personality through stories of his reluctance to wear a suit on the big day and his desire to add bacon to a tuna pasta dish served at the reception.
The multimedia element seemed gimmicky at first, with slides showing photos from ‘good’ and ‘bad’ weddings. This functions, however, as a neat bookend between segments of the show, and the more outrageous ‘bad wedding’ shots got the audience chuckling.
Pending Nuptials is well written and has some terrific moments. At other points it felt obvious Psiakis was reciting her script and the jokes fell a little flat. A more conversational delivery would help this material bring in the laughs.
On balance, though, the audience response was positive. And rightly so: Psiakis is down-to-earth, sparkling, genial, even greeting punters at the door as they arrive. Her fluent performance and very pleasant voice made the hour fly past.
And if you want to find out the rhyming slang for a meal including both tuna and bacon, you’ll just have to see her show.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details