Melbourne Reviews

Dave Thornton can tell you almost to the second how long he was in lockdown with his pre-school children in a tiny Brunswick house this past year.

Now he’s out and excited and raring to go, so for dog’s sake don’t arrive late to his show. He is fast on his feet and will be merciless.

Those niceties aside, he settles in for a cosy catch-up chat on what’s been happening – his not-so-hot postie-bike, bogan dogs, children’s names and how hard it is for a bloke to bring up kids ‘with different bits to boys’.

With neatly clipped beard and cute David Beckham-style hair, Thornton is every inch a Brunswick man, but that doesn’t stop him applying his sharply analytical eye to his neighbours’ foibles and flaws. After a whole year of intensive scrutiny, the observations are both hilariously original and instantly recognizable.

With a slick and self-deprecating humour, his stories twist the everyday into novel frameworks that are both relatable and surprising.

I mean who else could compare dating apps to real estate? or raise the very real question of whether poodles really do have standards?

Despite appearing on The Project, Just For Laughs and Hughesy, We Have A Problem, Dave Thornton is not yet the household name he deserves to be in Australia. One of the nation’s best raconteurs, his hour-long show didn’t have a single flat spot and, despite the inevitable F bombs and some cheeky content, his is the sort of show you could happily take your mum to and still be able to laugh without embarrassment.