Accidents Are Prohibited On This Road

Accidents Are Prohibited On This Road – Russell McGliton

I have always thought Melbourne a close cousin of Manchester, my home city in the UK.  Melbourne tends to come out just on top by a cat's whisker, mainly due to the ocean, the beach and the weather, but those unfair natural advantages aside, they are uncannily similar. Both begin with an M for a start. Then there are the fine historic buildings & museums, great restaurants, their lively music scenes, world class sport, buzzing night life, and the fact they are both second cities (just don’t shout that too loudly to either Melburnians or Mancunians – another thing that they have in common.) There is also something about the vibe: energetic without being hectic, especially compared to their first city counterparts.

Where Melbourne does stand out though is when it comes to the arts. There is always something going on. The Melbourne Fringe Festival was the main draw from September 24^th through to the 10^th October. So, armed with some excellent company and wise old hands at the comedy scene, Glenn and Jess, we headed to North Melbourne for our first taster of the ‘Fringe’. The other great thing that Melbourne has is pubs – one of the English’s finest gifts to this city. So we started off in the terrace of a pub for a quick pint before walking over the street to the venue.

This is where I get my first unique taste of the Fringe. The venue looked like your Aunty May’s house. When we walk in the doorman tells us that “Russell and the others are waiting for you upstairs.” Crap. Do I know him? I ask whether we are late and he says no, but that we are the last to arrive. He clearly doesn’t know us after all. We rush upstairs and into Russell’s front room. Well I am sure he didn’t actually live there but he could have done. There were a few sofas at the front and rows of chairs lined up facing a temporary stage. I have read a review of the show since and it describes the room as being 'packed' which is technically true. How many people can you fit in your front room after all. There were thirty seven people, including us. This was going to be fun!

The only seats left were right up front, second row from the stage. I instantly panicked. If you have ever been to Bernard Manning’s Embassy club you will know exactly what I am talking about. Sure enough, I was in the firing line.

“McGilton’s affable manner on stage instantly warmed the packed audience to share their own places of travel before launching into his own story.”

Translation: McGilton scared the living daylights out of me by asking me ‘Do you like to travel, sir?’ almost as soon as I sat down.  We love to travel which is one of the reasons we wanted to see this travel themed show. We have also been to some amazing places, but the pressure of the moment means the best that I can come up with is ‘We lived in the UAE for four years.’ Probably the dullest place on earth. Irony maybe, comedy no. I thought he would crucify me, instead he flashed me a look of pity. 

From then on in, McGliton entertained us well. His strengths are in his character delivery and facial expressions. Whilst some of his material was very good, some was overly long and complicated – with such excellent delivery, I couldn’t help feel that he might want to get some outside assistance on the writing front, especially if he wants more than thirty seven people at his next gig. For some strange reason he had a projector and powerpoint show on stage. I don’t know about you, but the only thing powerpoint does is make me want to kill myself, not laugh hysterically - Russell mate, was this your shot at irony? Stick to the comedy. 

After the show we had a unique Fringe experience downstairs in the bar area, first chatting with the venue manager (it wasn’t someone’s house after all, but an art and dance studio) and then the man himself entered the room for a quick chat. He was a very nice chap indeed, and it was a unique way to round off the night. That and another pint over the road. I like this Fringe lark, a lot.

Melbourne 1 Manchester 0.