Review: Mel Buttle at Regal Theatre

Let Me Know Either Way by Mel Buttle at Regal Theatre
Friday, June 9, 2023

7.5/10

Mel Buttle is a star on the rise. After starting out as a stand-up in the late 2000s, she soon segued into television and radio hosting gigs alongside her work as columnist and writer for television. Things really started to go a little crazy just a couple of years ago though when her Aussie mum character, Lynn, started going viral across social media and all of a sudden Buttle was being introduced to more people than ever before.

Which brings us to Mel Buttle’s latest work, her stand-up show, Let Me Know Either Way.  The show is fast-paced and funny, as Buttle demonstrates her tremendous comedic skill, working the smallest detail into a fully-fledged comedic bit time and time again.

The show centres around the trials and tribulations of Australian suburbia and as such, Buttle’s modus operandi is to give the crowd a good laugh without the need for introspection. This is not to say that as a performer that Buttle is without nuance. The comedian shows an awareness of the current trend in comedy to engage with meta-ness or the social and political, but rejects these topics by framing her show with an ocker sensibility that is dubious about such things as ‘trends’ in the first place. And this worked a treat for the audience with the mums and the teachers in particular fighting back tears of laughter with Buttle’s descriptions of life at school from both sides of the fence hitting max relatability. 

Ultimately, Buttle’s show is a fantastic depiction of what it means to be a female Australian comedian in 2023 – or as Buttle may prefer to describe it: ‘a funny as sheila.’

MICHAEL HOLLICK