‘Success In Everything’ is Melbourne based independent comedian Noah ‘Noz’ Szto’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut and is well worth raving about.
Held in the most unlikely of places in a karaoke bar room, after seeing a framed painting image of Noah Szto giving a thumbs up wearing a white shirt with a rainbow in the background behind him, there are little notes around the venue like a treasure hunt that lead to you where you need wait before the show starts.
When it was finally time for the show to begin, Noz welcomed arriving patrons and helped guide them to their seats. Dressed in dark long pants, a black t-shirt, dress shoes and thick black framed glasses, Noz looked like an Asian Clark Kent and was also the one-man welcome party to his own show.
As I entered the venue room, I was engulfed with Chinese music and fast words flying across the big screen. Should you be able to read Chinese, you could even sing along to yourself before the show starts. We were in a karaoke room after all! Once everyone was seated, like a Jack-in-the-Box toy, Noz quickly popped out of the room only to jump back in and be welcomed by his audience with enthusiastic cheers.
‘Success In Everything’ tackles everything in Noah Szto’s awkward existence thus far; from his upbringing in a mixed race family (Chinese father, Caucasian mother), his culture, being a former Mormon, a current medical student, the most unpopular kid in school after getting fizzy drinks banned, to almost being abducted as a child. Every retelling is long and detailed but due to Noz’s chipper and upbeat delivery, you are fully invested in his tales and never actually ache for the punchline before he gives it.
Even when alleged staff worker Jerry (Bruce Peizheng Ni) disrupts the show, the flow of the performance never actually feels disjointed because Noz already has his sold-out audience eating out of the palm of his hand (not literally).
Just when you think you have ‘Success In Everything’ and Noah Szto all figured out, he bamboozles you with an abundance of surprises, one after the other. Due to his undeniable charm in both his comedy, the detailed descriptions and the sincerity of his storytelling, you could easily picture a tiny Noah being the core to the chaos that happened in his childhood, like the centre of a tornado, as Noz is telling it. This is credited to the excellent writing and directing of this show.
A comedian by night and a medical student during crazy early hours of the morning, I really don’t know how independent artist Noah Szto managed to juggle and survive his festival run. A natural on the stage (or other side of the room in this instance) and a king hustler in his own right, Noah Szto is a master of his craft, super hardworking, is always ten steps ahead, knows how to pull the strings of his puppets, and has passionately curated a concept that only he could pull off successfully.
Best described as controlled chaos, ‘Success In Everything’ is a smart, mighty impressive comedy experience and an even more brilliant festival debut. This show is well worth the hype and deserves every accolade possible. I cannot wait to see what other surprises this talented and gifted human has up his sleeves and when a new show finally happens, know that I’ll be there with bells on (also not literally).
Unfortunately, I attended the final show of ‘Success In Everything’ at the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, which was held at Lychee Karaoke from the 27th of March to the 20th of April. But please keep your eyes peeled for more Noah Szto shows in the future.
For more information, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/nozzystuff
https://www.instagram.com/lychee_karaoke_bar
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/success-in-everything