Promoting herself as a fresh face in ‘clean comedy,’ Hannah Boland presents a refreshing and unique one–woman stand up show as part of Sydney Fringe Comedy. There is something instantly likeable about Boland as she finds her stride on stage. While clearly pre-planned there is a natural flow to the performance as she jumps from anecdotes about her children to songs inspired by her father.
A simulation of being stuck in a lift and dealing with the lift recovery service will bring back every bad call centre experience you’ve ever had and will have you in fits of laughter. Lamenting she is not a runner, a description of the one time she did attempt to run and the movements of her body was absolutely hilarious. Incredibly candid, Boland admits to being overweight and compares the sound of her body running down the street to that of a horse galloping, drawing stares from the neighbourhood kids. Another highlight was the retelling of ‘the bum dance’ story where an unsuspecting man in a local supermarket got a big surprise.
Interjected in amongst the humour are tales of Boland’s health struggles and she is refreshingly frank and honest about the chronic pain she lives with every day. This serves to make the moments of hilarity even more poignant and the comedian’s ability to laugh at herself is inspiring.
Perhaps the most entertaining part of the hour long performance was a musical number which Boland wrote about her father. Both she and her father share a love of Australian sayings. However so many of them contained swear words and coming from a Christian household, this simply would not work. The song featured his version of ‘faecal matter hitting an air oscillator’ and other sayings cleverly constructed into a catchy tune. Absolutely brilliant.
The Best Medicine is entertaining and delightfully funny. Boland’s candidness and natural presence on stage makes the audience instantly comfortable and her relatable humour will have you laughing at situations that may have actually happened to you.
Find out more about The Best Medicine on the comedian’s website. The reviewer attended the only performance as part of Sydney Fringe on September 10th.
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