COMEDY
Presented by Xavier Tboy
De Luxe
Review by Gabriella Loo
Late on a Monday I rushed into De Luxe, having already downed my own delicious dinner, hopeful for one more delight for the night. A few minutes late, the venue’s compactness attracted attention to my arrival. Xavier Toby welcomed my partner and I as we quickly located a seat at the back. He asked me, “What have you been up to tonight?” I simply replied, “Burritos”. “Is that something to do with sex? Well it is now!” This shallow, cheap gag foreshadowed everything to come.
The Dinner Party recounts a dreaded sit-down dinner with four of Xavier’s “friends”, each one a stereotype of suburban middle-class Australia, represented by different bottles of alcohol. Expensive-looking five dollar wine symbolised a real estate agent; a French champagne bottle with blu-tack breasts the classy lawyer wife of the real estate agent; and a bag of cask wine for the unintelligent, overweight woman. It was disappointing to watch this unusual concept tarnished by degrading and misogynistic humour that no one found funny.
Within the half-full De Luxe, a few intoxicated people supported Toby’s routine with unreasonably loud laughter, giving him room for impromptu banter with his only fans in the room. I have reason to believe there was a plotted “laugher” at the back of the venue, but even he eventually stopped as he came to realise Toby’s one-too-many cheap shot jokes were simply not worth mustering up a meagre chuckle for. I started to find his startling outbursts of overenthusiastic laughter funnier than the lame jokes.
From gags about bogans in concentration camps to mistaken one night stands with transvestites, the whole night was hopelessly cringe-worthy. My feelings were a mix of embarrassment for Toby and contempt for his values. The Dinner Party with Xavier Toby was amateur comedy, and not at all reflective of the inventiveness of his previous work at Fringe World.
The Dinner Party with Xavier Toby runs until Sunday February 14 at De Luxe. Tickets available here.
