Presented by Xavier Toby
@ Gluttony – Funny Pork
SUNDAY 4 March (until March 11)

Conventional wisdom suggests that when attending a dinner party, certain topics of conversation should be avoided – religion, politics, money and sex. Xavier Toby feels differently. In Binge Thinking, he chronicles his attendance at the dinner party from hell, and in the process gives his considered and coherent take on the “de-evolution” of critical thinking and intelligent conversation in modern society.

His fellow dinner-party guests, a mix of bogans and middle-class battlers, all well-off and conservative, were represented on stage by various types of alcohol, an amusing way of personifying some of the attitudes that exist in Australian society.

Toby ridiculed their obsessions with feature walls, share prices, mortgage repayments and baby clothes to great effect, though much of the humour relied on broad stereotypical associations – the Coopers longneck didn’t have particularly refined views on immigration, for example, and the box of wine was even less in favour of embracing multiculturalism.

You might argue that such attitudes make for easy targets, and there were certainly elements of the show that deliberately underestimated the complexities of people’s lives. But this was necessary to Toby’s real goal – to encourage his audience to think for themselves. Behind every joke lurked the question, “Does any of this even matter?”

That was left for the audience to decide, as Toby moved rapidly on to detail his frustration with political participation in Australia: “The only people who have time to talk to politicians are people who are home during the day.” He was as contemptuous of the way politicians use the limited concerns of marginal electorates as a basis for making decisions: “Don’t base national policy on the opinions of people who think sporting memorabilia is a wise investment.”

He also took aim at society’s wilful ignorance, comparing the bankers and stockbrokers responsible for the global financial crisis to a fat man being asked to look after a jar of lollies. Why would we be surprised if we turn around a minute later to find our lollies – or pension funds – have disappeared? This sense of outrage was particularly pronounced towards the end of Toby’s routine, and in fact his delivery seemed much more focused when he was angry about something. I would have preferred to have seen a little more of that intensity throughout the whole show.

The core message behind Binge Thinking is that “conversation is a precious and amazing thing; it should be used to challenge and entertain.” Xavier Toby’s conversation was certainly entertaining. Challenging? Perhaps for some, but if you tend to hold progressive views, then you won’t find anything here that you haven’t heard before.

Nevertheless, Toby’s casual demeanour, engaging stage presence and welcome ability to laugh at himself when a joke doesn’t quite work out, coupled with the intimate nature of the Funny Pork venue, means his show feels like a particularly enjoyable conversation with a guy who knows what he’s talking about and makes you laugh at the same time. Any dinner party with Xavier Toby as a guest would be well worth attending.