When Fiona O’Loughlin begins her show, she announces that she’s 50, cracks a few jokes about aging and then tells the audience that she’ll be telling five stories from her life and 15-year comedy career. Dressed comfortably in black, My Brilliant Career is O’Loughlin trusting her own ability to captivate an audience without a gimmick, or even any kind of theme or through-line.
Long-time O’Loughlin fans needn’t fear; there are still plenty of gags about her five kids, life in Alice Springs and even her much-publicised battle with booze. There’s a hilarious story about the time she decided to take her first (and last) ecstasy tablet on a whim at 7 o’clock in the morning before returning home to her kids, and her “almost affair” with her best friend, which turned into something surprisingly heart-warming.
It’s not a frantic, laugh-a-minute night, but O’Loughlin’s candour and the way she shapes a narrative make it completely engrossing. It’s a little like catching up with an old friend, and although it takes a few moments to get back into the groove of the conversation, you’re soon enough getting along like a house on fire.
The voiceover that introduces O’Loughlin to the stage calls her “the queen of Australian comedy”. That’s a pretty big claim to make, especially in a festival featuring many of our greatest, but My Brilliant Career serves as a reminder as to why O’Loughlin’s appeal is so wide and why her career has been so brilliant.
Fiona O’Loughlin: My Brilliant Career is at the Melbourne Town Hall until 14 April. Tickets are available here.
This review was first published at Daily Review.