As her show reveals, Gillian Cosgriff is a born worrier who Googles just about everything. But, of course, she is not the only stress head, which makes her immediately relatable. Before we enter The Show Room at Arts Centre Melbourne, we are invited to note what we are worried about on a small slip of paper that we stuff into a box. Thereafter, that box of worries, sitting atop a faux Greek column, takes pride of place on stage, alongside a foot activated keyboard and a piano. Reading out a number of audience concerns is grist for the mill sometime later.
Gillian Cosgriff is a quick thinker and a supremely talented singer (with a beautiful tone), songwriter, musician and comedian, which she showcases over an hour. She begins by asking how everyone is feeling (optimistic or deeply concerned?), immediately interacting the crowd. Without missing a beat, she vocalises a tune which I will name Common Ground, linking audience experiences, however disparate they may be. Think Filipino food and gardening, for starters.
Cosgriff freely admits that her worries have escalated and enlarged – from climate change to AI and intolerance, and then an off the wall reference to motorbikes. She is clever funny. She also comes across as very much up tempo and happy. She smiles freely and frequently. A part of her repertoire, to which she returns, is referencing a plaque mounted, animatronic, singing fish prop, popularised in the late ‘90s and early noughties. Among songs this plaything, known as Big Mouth Billy Bass, used to sing was Don’t Worry, Be Happy, by Bobby McFerrin.
She has a unique perspective of ridding herself of negative karma. It involves picking something to learn … to shovel into her brain, so she can push out some of the bad stuff. Nice one. And then it is onto Greek mythology and Pandora’s Box or should that be Pandora’s Jar. Cosgriff recalls her younger years, when she was poor and living in a share house. One day, when she was alone, she decided to treat herself to a home day spa, which she combined with a hair mask, with disastrous consequences.
Her set includes a series of musical interludes, during which she warbles, gets the rhythm up on the keyboard or tickles the ivories, reflecting what she is talking about. She tells a hilarious tale about a woman’s embarrassment when attending a Japanese bath house, where she had to get naked. That leads onto a crazy story about the extreme lengths to which Cosgriff went to resign from a job at a discount chain when she was still in her teens. It is an example of why she says it is fine to approach things by saying “I don’t know”.
Jobs in her formative years leads to a quip about an Ancient Greek and Roman themed juice bar. Thereafter, she launches a diatribe at the changing face of McDonald’s McFlurries (incidentally, she didn’t work at Macca’s). To charm and delight us, algorithmic thinking is also on the menu, before a dig at the ‘90s TV show Changing Rooms and its US equivalent, Trading Spaces. One of her funniest routines (it is priceless) comes from spending time at the hairdressers. Enter conversation with the stylist, complete with hairdryer.
Cosgriff circles around to speak about her family, in particular her nephew who, at the age of eight, she introduced to the musical Hamilton. She was hoping that would get him interested in the arts, but a decidedly different career beckoned. Cue the armed forces. And then it is back to Pandora’s Box and the last thing in it, being a yellow ribbon. Just what could that mean? Cosgriff explains. It is left to Big Mouth Billy Bass to have the final say. To find out just what that is though, you will have to buy a ticket to see Gillian Cosgriff in Fresh New Worries.
I assure you that you won’t be disappointed. She is a performer extraordinaire – personable and polished – whose mind goes in 1001 directions. Much of what pours out of her is pure gold. Loved it. The Show Room at Arts Centre Melbourne is the venue until 20th April, 2025, as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Geraldine Hickey: Meander (Arts Centre Melbourne) – theatre review
- Judith Lucy & Denise Scott Still Here (Arts Centre Melbourne) – theatre review
- One Man Musical (Arts Centre Melbourne) – musical theatre review
Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
