Saturday 16 May 2026

Bondi Pavilion

Ally Morgan

Sydney Comedy Festival

Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)

Armed only with a piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and a ukulele, Ally Morgan sets off alone into space in a ChatGPT inspired DIY spaceship. She broadcasts a radio show from her craft hoping to find other survivors of the Apocalypse that is supposed to have consumed Earth. Then one day an alien responds. This alien (who she names Whalon) is naive, being only 12 weeks old, but has inspired insights into everything from the state of the Earth and its geopolitics to Ally’s psychology and state of mind. This sets us up for a night of biting satire and hilarious one-liners.

Ally’s musical talents were the mainstay of the show. With witty song-writing (reminiscent of the style of Tim Minchin) and versatile vocal style, she covered topics as diverse as the disfunctionality of the UN to the memorabilia of a teenage Gen Z girl. Many of those latter references went over my head, but then I wasn’t the target demographic. Regardless, there were many noises of recognition and approval in the younger elements of the near capacity crowd. The pacing of the show was well-crafted with a series of high paced bangers relaxing into some gentle ballads sung in the style of Joni Mitchell. Even Whalon got a ballad to sing.

The rear projection helped illustrate the story and the songs. They were simple in design, but effective and creative in their use, perfectly timed to the lyrics of the musical numbers. Also brilliant was her use of technology which allowed her to have lengthy conversations with the alien (simultaneously performed by Ally).

Her interaction with the audience was charming and warm, constantly toying with the permeability of the 4th wall. Were we in her spacecraft or was she in our theatre? Also endearing was her ability to laugh at herself while at the same time being a shameless precocious braggart. She took more than one swipe at social media and our fascination with it, that many in the audience responded to with groans of self-recognition. That is comedy gold!

This show is the final offering of Bondi Pavilion’s involvement in the Sydney Comedy Festival with only one more performance on Sunday 17 May. Definitely a show worth catching if you get a chance.