Denise Scott: Regrets

There's not much that can charitably be said about Denise Scott's Regrets. Her onstage presence is comforting and she certainly delivers an assured standup performance, indeed, her gentle command of the room puts her mature audience at ease. Throughout her set, Scott frequently refers to her status as a beloved star in Australia and it may well be the case that her tales of husband John and observational humour work far better in bigger 2,000 seat arenas than in this cramped and stuffy room. It has seemingly drained all of the energy, giving her set the feel of a dramatic monologue.

But much of the blame for what is a rather unsatisfying hour lies with Scott, relying too heavily on tired post-menopausal cliché and frequently highlighting the lack of laughter by portraying herself as the cheeky comic there to make a joke out of everything. If the jokes are there, they are too well-hidden or at the very least, stifled by the atmosphere. Anecdotes referring to previous gigs of Scott’s which have resulted in humorous audience interaction only leave this audience wondering when our own big laughs are coming. There does seem to be some form of catharsis in relating to Scott’s experiences, but there are unforgivably few genuine laughs in Regrets and Scott as the loveable mother-figure simply cannot count on so much charity from her audience.