Melbourne Reviews

Queen of the Netflix comedy special, Iliza Shlesinger delighted the audience at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall with The Get Ready Tour! Fans who have watched the comedian’s six specials on the streaming platform will have seen her evolution from party goblin to mother of two, all while becoming one of the most popular comedians worldwide.  

Shlesinger is an expert at keeping the audience on their toes with her storytelling style that has the energy of a boxing match.

The fast-paced, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jokes, many aimed at the elder millennial fanbase, are as sharp as ever, and the underlying themes of bodily autonomy, female rights and autocratic governments are (unfortunately) just as relevant.

This is Shlesinger’s gift, the sucker punch after lulling you into an enjoyable evening of stand-up. In between butt-gloss jokes, motherhood anecdotes, and observational humour, you’ll be swiftly brought back to reality with a hard truth.

Shlesinger also has a remarkable physicality that she brings to her shows. Bounding across the stage with reckless abandon, she fully embodies the characters of her own creation, who are wild and outlandish, over-the-top versions of real-life people. She takes just enough from reality with these sketch show-esque skits that the journey to the ridiculous doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

While not technically part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Shlesinger’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect for an audience already primed from the last few weeks of outstanding comedy performances across the city. The beloved comedian has a wide-reaching fan base, evidenced by the tour that will now head to Sydney and Brisbane before stopping over in New Zealand and then on to Northern Europe before heading back to the United States. It’s kind of wild to think that the same jokes that bring joy to Aussie audiences are just as funny in Estonia, that the overarching themes of dating, parenthood and the struggles of the elder millennial hit just as hard across oceans and language barriers.

It's clear that audiences can’t get enough of Shlesinger; the actress, comedian, podcaster and author continues to deliver expertly crafted content to her adoring fans that create their own merch in her honour and bow down to the original party goblin.