REVIEW: M is for Melbourne, Julian O’Shea – Melbourne International Comedy Festival


Julian O’Shea is an educator, fascinated with design, has a YouTube channel focusing mostly on “Unknown Melbourne” and he’s a world record holder – but you’ll need to see his Comedy Festival show to learn more about that!

But you can’t see his Comedy Festival show, because it’s all sold out. Yes, Julian has rolled his internet fame into a very successful first live show. It’s informative, hilarious and very quirky.

If you know “Unknown Melbourne,” you’ll know exactly what you’re going to get here – some wonderful nerdery about city design and function. As Julian says upfront, the comedy is when people laugh and the informative stuff is when people don’t laugh. But it’s definitely funnier than it is informative.

The subtitle of the show is “The World’s Mostly Liveable City” – a play on the “most liveable” title that we Melburnians proudly and egotistically shouted about for a few years before we were replaced by Vienna. Ugh, the Viennese. Julian’s show takes us through the A to Z of quirky Melbourne facts, while also taking offense to the idea that Vienna is better.

I’ve been watching Julian’s YouTube channel since one of our lockdowns – watching videos of a city I lived in, during a time where I couldn’t visit any of the places he talked about. The Solar System model in St Kilda or the oft-struck Montague Street bridge or the trees you can email.

M is for Melbourne is the perfect in-person version of his online content. And since you can’t get a ticket to this show, being sold-out is also great promotion for his YouTube channel. Check that out while you wait for his next live show.

- Keith Gow, Theatre First

Edit: Julian has added extra shows on April 6 and 7!

Julian O’Shea is on at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 7 

Comments