Mind the pun, but Lou Wall has had a big question on their mind: where are all the tall grandmas? While ‘little old ladies’ are apparently a dime a dozen, the Australian comedian reckons that there is a concerning lack of statuesque old broads. This question has been keeping them awake at night, and furthermore, they have a deeply personal investment in solving this mystery.
You see, Lou Wall stands at a cool six-foot-five (195cm). A well above average stature which empowers them to loom over everyone, even men who are considered tall. In fact, Wall is even taller than the actress cast in the titular role of the befuddling Netflix film Tall Girl, as well as the actress who played the even-taller new girl in the follow-up film, Tall Girl 2.
But with a severe lack of representation when it comes to women and AFAB folks whose time on earth is upwards of middle age, Wall is deeply worried that their days are numbered. Once they reach a certain age, will they simply just disappear into thin air?
Wall needs answers, and urgently. Fuelled by an overwhelming sense of curiosity, anxiety and suspicion, they set out on a valiant quest to solve the mystery of the missing tall grandmas – and this journey is the basis of their latest stand-up show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Lou Wall review – quick links
Grandma hunting
Where Are All the Tall Grandmas? is naturally punctuated by Wall’s signature brand of punchy, internet-native, multimedia musical comedy. (For the unacquainted, Wall’s viral rap-musical presentation about a disastrous Facebook Marketplace interaction remains one of the most hilarious things you’ll ever witness.)
Without giving too much away, the show begins with an impressive bit of prop work that is so delightfully unexpected, that this stunt alone is worth the cost of admission. Wall launches into musing on their childhood love of playing hide-and-seek – an affinity for being ‘really good at hiding’ and making themself ‘invisible’ that has followed them into adulthood, in spite of their tall stature making them almost unavoidably visible in most spaces.
Wall’s ‘investigation’ leads them to seek out grandmas in their usual haunts, from an ungodly early hour at the local IGA to IKEA warehouses, where they speculate the tall grannies’ natural gifts could possibly be used to reach the highest shelves.
As always, Wall is a delightful presence on stage, with a warm, mischief-tinged energy that could win over everyone from your nan to your neighbourhood lesbian, and probably even that bloke who ‘doesn’t get pronouns’.
However, as Wall’s mission continuously leads them into dead ends, the initially exciting and chaotic pace sometimes leads into meandering lulls. The ensuing personal crisis gives way to some small revelations and reckonings with their identity and purpose in life, but the winding path to their destination is, honestly, not all paved in golden material.
A little too much vulnerability?
It’s always a risk when a comedian starts venting about their struggle with writing their show as part of the show. Is this really the best way to fill time and get the audience on your side?
Someone who’s slogging it out in a full-time day job to make ends meet, for example, might not have much space to hold for a career stand-up venting about all the time they’ve spent anxiously procrastinating over writing a festival show. (This reviewer’s friends have certainly lost tolerance for her cries about trying to file particularly fiddly comedy reviews.) And isn’t comedy supposed to be, well, fun?
Wall’s research does, however, stumble into a shocking revelation about a covert practice of medical sexism from Australia’s far-too-recent history. Between the 1950s and the 1990s, Australian girls who were predicted to grow ‘very tall’ were treated with high-dose synthetic estrogens in order to induce an early puberty and reduce their adult height.
While the aim was to reduce social stigma, this treatment was linked to fertility issues and ovarian cysts. You can’t help but wonder if the same people actively barring access to puberty blockers for trans teens would bat an eye at this needless and harmful interference with young women’s bodies.
As Wall drives the show to a conclusion, they share a letter they penned to their future, grandma-aged self while in a somewhat altered state (and good for them, sounds like a thoroughly therapeutic exercise). They do this in the form of a song – a tactic that walks a fine line between sweet, funny and vulnerable, but also deflective, that sly dog!
ArtsHub: All Melbourne International Comedy Festival interviews and reviews
Or not enough?
During the closing number, Wall slips in some small additional details about another personal reckoning that they’ve been wrestling with for the past year or so – despite previously identifying as a lesbian, they’ve had a realisation that they’re also attracted to men (happens to the best of us!) and they now find themself in a relationship with a man.
With bisexuals routinely copping attitude from both queer and straight factions (and believe me, dear reader, this critic would know), it does make sense that this confession comes sheepishly, almost shamefully.
However, it’s frustrating that our window into this potentially-rich topic is so small, briefly shoehorned in at the conclusion of the show, where Wall can get away with not elaborating much on an experience that could itself be the subject of a whole hour-long show. (Hopefully, this is a precursor for the next masterpiece?)
This summons the conundrum faced by many comedians and artists who trade in ‘confessional’ work: how much do they owe it to share with us about their own life, circumstances and personal crises – and when?
How much is the audience entitled to know? And is routinely packaging your real-time experiences and reflections into a one-hour show for an annual festival calendar really doing anyone any favours?
Where Are All the Tall Grandmas? might not be Wall’s most polished stand up offering, but it is a worthwhile hour to spend with a comedian who looms large over comedy’s old status quo – and not just because they’re really bloody tall.
