I am sure that many of us in our early twenties never thought about writing a memoir, let alone a novelisation of said memoir. Well, thankfully we find out what that’s like with UK powerhouse Leo Reich with their Australian premiere show, ’Literally Who Cares?!’.
Performing at the Melbourne Town Hall’s Powder Room, dressed in black shorts, black boots, a black top with the word ‘MISBHV’, Leo literally bounds out onto the stage. Bouncing around like a rabbit on speed, I knew we were in for a wild one-hour rollercoaster ride of comedy.
Not only does Leo cover topics of his own past, shares his views on the current political climate and reflects on the Gen-Z experience of ‘growing up now’. But the show is also broken up by some techno inspired original song and dance numbers that are as fierce as his dominant blue eyeshadow.
The first song is literally four bars and then abruptly stops with Leo moving on straight away. The audience started to applaud that was met with a dominant ‘no, stop, we don’t have the time’. This theme of stopping the audience from carrying on continued throughout the show. And when you think about it, it makes complete sense. Why waste time applauding and waiting for the applause to stop, when you can just fit in more comedy that we have paid to see? Also reaffirmed that the show was all about him, and we were just passengers of his own narcissism.
Whilst the show is so tightly scripted and very well-rehearsed, Leo’s crowd work and quick-witted responses are fire. One particular moment Leo reflected on how in year 8, he got his first school bully. Strangely, an audience member gave a weirdly subdued “Woo!”. Perplexed by this response, Leo leaned into it and fired back with “And he’s here tonight!”.
Leo’s comedic style is one that I cannot say I have experienced before. What made his show so funny was how he would recall a fictional theory and add a literal meaning to the end that not only highlighted the inconceivable nature of what he just spoke about but was also hilarious. Leo would also abruptly stop a sentence and then move on quickly that it would take a second or two for the audience to react. Leo puts comedy into otherwise mundane situations that is subtle and extremely clever.
There is no topic that Leo is not afraid to tackle from the economy, climate change, homosexuality, heterosexual marriage, vegans, and even Nazis. Throughout the entire show, I was hanging on every single word as I followed this tornado of a comic bounce around the small Powder Room stage. Literally, he was moving around so much I low-key got motion sickness from sitting in the front row. This is not a bad thing, as it is much more exciting than most stand-up comics that literally just stand there. I can only imagine the step count Leo would rack up each night.
Leo Reich’s is a fun, energetic, fierce and sassy delight. Stupidly talented and complete with props that are as big as his ego, ’Literally Who Cares?!’ is a one-hour thrill ride that will challenge the way you perceive the issues of the current political climate.
Leo Reich’s ’Literally Who Cares?!’ is showing as part of the 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival until the 23rd of April.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/literally-who-cares
https://leoreich.com
https://www.instagram.com/leo_reich
https://twitter.com/leoistired
https://www.tiktok.com/@leo_reich