If you can’t decide on one comedian to see at the Sydney Comedy Festival this year, Lady Bits is a snappy showcase that lets you see several performers on the same bill. Loani Arman, Celeste Barber and sisters Hannah and Eliza Reilly are four very different comedians who somehow gel in this show.
The evening opens with the four women bounding onto the Factory Floor stage in a refreshing burst of energy. There, they proceed to each act as their own MC, introducing themselves in a self- deprecating fashion, before sitting on the couch to banter. Loani Arman is a writer, actor and performer who quickly tells us she has one child; Celeste Barber, who is also an actor and writer/sketch performer, has two of her own children, as well as two stepchildren. Cue collective internal yawning from sections of the crowd, as we wonder if we’re in for some stereotypical motherhood jokes and brace ourselves for the ‘life’s hard for female comedians’ gig. Thankfully, what follows is much better: the motherhood jokes, as with the Reilly sisters’ dating jokes, are short and hit the spot. In fact, the range of different life experiences present in Lady Bits is what keeps the show relevant to a wide audience.
After a few minutes of banter, Hannah takes to the stage to tell the story of her sister’s latest date, before launching into her own story of dating a homeless man she met in the Central Station tunnel. It’s a simple narrative which isn’t overly drawn out or involved, but her delivery is excellent. She’s followed by several sections of Eliza playing piano (or perhaps more accurately, demonstrating her use of the keyboard) as she interprets musically her own jokes about their friends and the loss of her hymen. It’s clear that both girls are used to working as a double act: alone, Hannah is the funnier of the two, with Eliza’s style may be a little too attention grabbing for some.
Barber is a sassy, opinionated Mum of two, who garners many of her laughs from peppering her stories with the fact that her husband is hot (so much so that she’s correct in assuming we’ll all want to meet him after her performance!) The evening is rounded out by the very capable Arman, who although she acts the clown, is instrumental in holding the group together at various points of the evening.
This is comedy aimed at a broad general audience – it’s neither particularly feminist nor particularly filthy. The diverse points of view raised by the group are a massive positive: here are four women guaranteed to shake off the myth that women can’t be funny!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Lady Bits
With Loani Arman, Celeste Barber, Eliza Reilly, Hannah Reilly
Sydney Comedy Festival
Factory Theatre, Marrickville
13th & 15th May at 7.30pm
