Bronwyn Isaac’s Why Are You Here? is a raunchy, multi-faceted standup show that touches on politics, her Kafka-Esque run-in with an immigration lawyer, and the crazy things we do for love.
Bronwyn Isaac’s debut show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival answers one of life’s biggest questions, Why Are You Here? Having already performed it in cities all around the world, the American-born, Amsterdam-residing “expat” has graced our shores with her witty one-woman stand-up show. Marooned in customs while she waits for her VISA to be accepted, Isaac clues us in on why she made the big move east post-Covid. Isaac brings you along for the ride, sharing the trials and tribulations of moving to a whole new city in a whole new country.
Ever since moving to Amsterdam with her girlfriend in 2022, Isaac’s had one question thrown her way more than any other, why are you here? Never quite finding the right words, Isaac put her skills to good use and wrote an hour-long comedy show to explain why.
Isaac delivers her stand-up routine confidently and with zero faults. While she does tackle a range of topics, Isaac ties them together seamlessly, keeping her audience engaged with lots of crowd work. Isaac even stops to show to check in on us and makes sure we are doing okay, which was much appreciated.
Isaac’s show takes the form of a mock trial. We, the gathered audience, act as a jury, hearing her case for entry into Australia. Which is fitting given her Kafka-Esque run-in with a flaky immigration lawyer in Amsterdam.
An activist through and through, Why Are You Here? is an intensely political show, commenting on life in Trump’s USA and just what made it such an unsafe place for her and her girlfriend post-covid.
The heart of Isaac’s show is love and the lengths we are willing to go for that special someone. Uprooting your entire life with very little preparation is something no sane person would ever do. But then again, love makes us do the strangest things.
While she makes a living now as a self-confessing “click bait” writer, Isaac did once work as a political reporter in New York, covering the 2016 election. But Isaac makes it a point to say that she never saw any real action, spending most of her time on Twitter. Which, truth be told, wasn’t that far off from an actual warzone in 2016.
The show is set in the Motley Spielhaus, which is quite literally a stone’s throw away from the Queen Victoria Market.
But the cramped setting is what holds the show back the most unfortunately. While this could just be me and my own aversion towards any public interaction, the venue is too cramped and claustrophobic for it to be the proper setting for a stand-up show. Something more spacious would suit Isaac’s style of comedy, helping the audience also feel more comfortable.
Is Why Are You Here? Worth seeing in Melbourne? Isaac’s brand of humour is quite blue, featuring jokes about gender, race, and politics. A younger, more open-minded crowd will get the most out Isaac’s hour-long show. I would give Isaac’s debut show at the Melbourne Internation Comedy Festival a solid three and a half stars out of five.
