Review: ELOUISE EFTOS: AUSTRALIA’S FIRST ATTRACTIVE COMEDIAN, Soho Theatre

“Are you guys listening to me?”

From the start of Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian, Eftos makes it clear that this isn’t going to be the classic self-deprecating comedy show, walking on stage to lip-sync to a personalised version of the iconic Basic Instinct scene. From there, audiences are introduced to Eftos with a video about how she went viral in Australia after claiming to be “Australia’s First Attractive Comedian” - roll credits! Eftos then reemerges from backstage in a new outfit, promising the audience “wits and tits” over the next hour.

With the main topics being attractiveness and comedy, Eftos is confident that she has both traits, acknowledging how hot she is and telling the audiences how well-received her shows have been over the years. The confidence she shows on stage is rarely seen, especially when it comes to female comedians, something Eftos uses to her advantage. The audience members are described as “normies” and Eftos cannot fully relate to them, having reached another level of life that others can only dream of.

Eftos uses slides to enhance her comedy, showing not only photos but screenshots of conversations she’s had with fellow female comedians, including the star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardalos, that might not go the way that audiences think it will!

But the main part of the show is an interactive game, where Eftos hands a video game controller and a microphone to individual audience members, inviting them to play. She becomes different “ideal women,” allowing the audience member to live out a romantic fantasy with stereotypical women like the “Book Nerd,” the “Bartender” and a “Beach Babe” - though there’s a catch. Each audience member has a task to complete based on which woman they pick, leading to some hilarious interactions.

Eftos does a fantastic job dealing with each of the audience members, including a particularly interesting one who tries to get their friend to participate instead, leading to some confusion. There is also a hilarious running gag that happens when Eftos is doing crowd work, where she begins to talk about something important but then transitions into a slow-motion romantic moment, dragging her hands down her body and pushing back her hair as so many women do in films. 

An unexpected highlight is when Eftos reflects on the downsides of being attractive, particularly focusing on how being hot can cost people their jobs. The main example? Helen of Troy. The second? Pete Best, a former drummer of The Beatles who was replaced by Ringo Starr before the band shot to stardom. The bit proves that Eftos really knows her stuff when it comes to the world of rock and roll, providing visual evidence of Best’s attractiveness and chastising the audience for feeling bad for Starr, a millionaire who married a Bond girl, Barbara Bach. 

The ending comes a bit out of nowhere and is incredibly reminiscent of Courtney Pauroso’s Vanessa 5000, but it follows the themes Eftos has established throughout the show. 

Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian is a fresh take on how comedians present themselves to the world, quite literally the opposite of the self-deprecating humour that many have depended on over the years. It’s a fascinating reflection on feminism that forces audience members to look at what they find funny, and why a joke about women might make them laugh so much.