Comedy Festival 2018: Neal Portenza brings joyful madness in Fafenefenoiby II: Return of the Ghost Boy ★★★★
IF renowned magician David Copperfield went mad, grew a beard, popped on a beret, turned low-rent in his illusions and suddenly became hilarious he’d be Neal Portenza.
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IN 2017, the Herald Sun vowed to never again miss a Neal Portenza show. That vow, it turns out, might be easier to fulfil than expected. Because after this current run, there might never be another Neal Portenza show.
Show business. The comedian says loves the ‘show’ part, but across his career the ‘business’ side has gradually worn him down: costly venue rentals, soaring tax bills, the constant hustle for audiences. “I’m burnt out and have fallen out of love with comedy,” he claims. And so he’s chosen to retire.
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If this is to be a true swansong, then it’s a shame, because even if the white-suited, beret-wearing comic has never quite transcended his cult status, he remains one of the most gloriously mad acts you’ll ever see.
To witness a Portenza show is to become an instant convert to his unique brand of joyful madness. Ostensibly he’s a lame magician: an illusionist and mind reader (and a pretty impressive one, at that).
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But this is as far from slick as you can imagine, Portenza’s act presented as an anarchic (in fact, carefully constructed) shambles.
The audience is an integral part of the show, bombarded with Portenza’s manic energy until the entire room becomes a kind of lunatic hive mind, laughing constantly like a single, massive drain.
Portenza is on another planet to traditional stand-up comedy. His show is an absolute ball of fun that will leave you exhausted, amazed and grinning like a dope.
And, remember, this could be your last ever chance to see this one-of-a kind comedian. Although you never know: one day comedy’s loss may well be magic’s gain.
Neal Portenza, Fafenefenoiby II: Return of the Ghost Boy
Melbourne Town Hall, cnr Swanston and Collins sts, Melbourne, until April
22.
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