Carlo Ritchie Cooking for No One

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2017: Carlo Ritchie – Cooking For No One

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Cooking For No One showcases Carlo Ritchie’s lovelorn laments. The man is confident, competent, and his stories of failed romance very funny.

Ritchie is suave, urbane and coolly mesmerising. His delivery is calm and measured, and he wears his personal brand of laconic hilarity all over himself. He is very ‘Oz’ and works this into his style. A skilled improviser, he enjoys every minute of his show sharing his kooky stories. I can see him skipping over to mainstream success very shortly. 

The script is beautifully crafted and reads like a dream. Ritchie is a lover of words and uses rich language with largesse. It’s both educational and delightful to relish the language with him. And lovely to follow along his plainly-delivered voice to ridiculous outcomes. He doesn’t overcook the humour, remaining po-faced at some of the weirdest life moments.

Highlights of his weird little stories include international jaunts as a younger man pursuing pretty ladies, ending up in an assortment of odd situations overseas.  These include nude saunas and fobbing off schizophrenic stalkers in Berlin. Rounding up sheep in the Arctic, to military men with suicidal ideation. He also debunks myths about ‘regional towns’ and the country/city divide. This, and much more!

Such is the colourful ride Ritchie takes us on in his imaginative landscape. His show is a comedy of manners in the modern world. He is funny even drinking water on stage. There is a very unique MICF-moment of complete silence in his show. See if you can spot it.

You gotta see this act. Carlo Ritchie is totally ready to fire and it’s a very entertaining hour.

– Sarah
Sarah W. is a dance-trained theatre lover with a flair for the bold and non-traditional performance platforms. On the street or in the box seat, she looks for quality works that push the envelope.

Carlo Ritchie’s Cooking For No One runs 8–22 April, 8.15pm (50 mins) at Tasma Terrace. Purchase tickets now.
The venue is not accessible.

Read The Plus Ones’ guide to MICF 2017, and visit often to see all our reviews.

Disclosure: The Plus Ones were invited guests of Giant Dwarf.
Image credit: Melbourne International Comedy Festival.