Comedy Festival 2018: Veganism on the menu in Amy Cunningham’s Eat The Teeth ★★★

CANADIAN charmer chows down on her vegan lifestyle for your amusement. Moderately entertaining, but lacks protein and you won’t feel fully satisfied.

Amy Cunningham is a comedian. But she’s also a vegan – a much-mocked choice where people don’t eat animals or their products, such as milk or honey.

So the Canadian gets in first, joking she wanted a “glaze of morality I could wrap around my eating disorder” as she examines her vegan lifestyle.

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With her staccato delivery of gentle tales, it’s an enjoyable – but not brilliant – hour of stand-up.

It is all up for grabs: anorexia, Cunningham’s extremely light carbon footprint, lesbianism, mental health issues and family trouble. That might sound grim, but her sweet and warm manner drew some solid laughs.

Anorexia, carbon footprints, lesbianism and family trouble are all fair game in Amy Cunningham’s Eat The Teeth. Picture: Supplied

Cunningham recognised the potential weight and ripped into some ‘standard’ comedy tropes in a fun way. It wasn’t so much, “Hey, what about airline food?” but a great diversion from an at-times heavy load of topics.

Loud and random noise bleeding from raucous crowds in other rooms kept distracting both the crowd and performer. Cunningham’s halting, building delivery was smashed by it. At one point she rambled for five minutes to no end before getting back on track.

Surprise opening act Asaf Gerchak (his show, ‘The Only Happy Man in Sadtown’) – a fellow Canuck – was an excellent bonus, warming up the crowd with energetic riffs on his Australian adventures so far.

Amy Cunningham, Eat The Teeth

Imperial Hotel, 2 Bourke Street, until April 21.

comedyfestival.com.au

Amy Cunningham in Eat The Teeth.