★★★★★
Celia Pacquola returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year with her latest work, Gift Horse. As a woman hurtling towards her forties, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen!
It was a muggy, will-it-or-won’t-it-rain kind of day in Melbourne’s CBD. After wandering past all of the ‘Year of the Horse’ posters plastered throughout a busy Chinatown, I arrived at Melbourne’s stunning, sold-out Comedy Theatre for my first opportunity to see Pacquola live on stage.
This year celebrates Pacquola’s twentieth year on the comedy scene. She is a national treasure and a welcome regular on our televisions with her hosting duties on Thank God You’re Here,and her regular appearances on Have You Been Paying Attention?
Most recently, Pacquola has lit up our screens in ABC’s series, Dog Park. She is characterised by her down-to-earth, authentic, observational brand of comedy. Gift Horse is certainly no exception.
They say “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” As Pacquola so articulately conveys, in its essence, this classic idiom advises us not to turn up our noses at gifts. Regardless of how odd, peculiar, or utterly not-you these gifts may be. What you’re supposed to do, of course, is just smile and say…”thank you.”
So begins Pacquola’s masterful comedic storytelling into her partner’s well-meaning choice to gift her not one, but two inflatable kayaks for her 42nd birthday. Has she ever mentioned kayaking before? Nope – but where’s the fun in that?
The show adeptly weaves its way through the raucous realities of being in one’s forties. Comedic meet-cutes, gasp-worthy approaches to motherhood, those inexplicable red dots on your skin, superhero friendships, and the need to face your fears…or not. Every single story is roll-your-eyes relatable.
The heart of this show is clear from the get-go. It blazes from the insights Pacquola gives her audience into the everyday life of her family and the lovingly antagonistic relationship she shares with the love-of-her-life, partner Dara.
It is always an utter joy to witness powerfully real, exceptionally talented women on Australian stages astutely unpacking the beautiful mundanity of everyday life. Pacquola’s show feels less like a performance and more like settling in for brunch with a brilliant mate.
So if you’ve ever received your own, personal, blow-up kayak – that gift that’s made you ask “do you even know me?”, I say kayak, don’t walk, to catch Celia Pacquola’s show.
Celia Pacquola: Gift Horse runs to 5 April at the Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition Street, as part of the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Check Celia’s socials for further tour dates.
Tickets: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/gift-horse/
Website: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/melbcomedyfestival/ and https://www.instagram.com/celia_pacquola/
Images supplied.
