Hot Mess Comedy | Ting Lim & Sandeep Totlani
Random, chaotic and hilarious, Hot Mess Comedy is an evening of unbridled hilarity.
The way it works is this; the first half of the night is like your normal stand-up show, with each of the comedians performing their tried and tested sets. The second half is competitive improv and this is where the real fun begins, as the comics are thrown in the deep end by a series of absurd topics written by a few unforgiving audience members. During this part, I could really appreciate the craft, as I witnessed some of the comedians thinking up side-splittingly funny gags on the spot, while some completely bombed under pressure, and others amazingly alternated between the two. I was both amused and in awe as they tried all different techniques to get a reaction on such ridiculous topics as ‘COVID Karens’, ‘Explain to aliens why earth should survive the attack’, and ‘Induction day at the nunnery’, to name just a few.
This month’s sold-out event was hosted by Emma Zammit whose masterful riffing off the audience had us all giggling and guffawing between sets. The line-up of comedians included Luke Heggie with some amusing and relatable observations, the self-proclaimed bad boy Ethan Simiana with a bit of an immersive storytelling style, Anisa Nandaula whose background in poetry shows through in her quick wit and skilful delivery, Matt Sutherland who won the locals over with some nice Brisbane- specific gags, and Chris Martin with a few humorous real life tales.
The night’s standout and winner though was Vanessa Mitchell who really knows how to work a crowd, with a cheeky energy and charming frankness.
The beauty of this event is in its rawness, as well as in that it’s bound to be so very different each time, with different comedians and topics from month to month.
