Steele Saunders joked recently during his I Love Green Guide Letters podcast that people that have now seen his solo show exclaim with surprise that he’s funny. And it’s slightly true, Saunders is a highly capable MC when sharing a podcast with his energetic friends, but organisational skills are not really valued in a gig like that.
Rosebud, a tribute to his hometown rather than a Citizen Kane reference, is Saunders’ story of his last hours in the seaside suburb before moving to Melbourne. Much like any early teen tale, there’s some hormonal yearning, casual drug use and childhood friends that really wouldn’t make the cut as you grow older. Saunders has a talent for telling a story at the right pace, peppering the jokes with a few dramatic flourishes, and really nails the love-hate relationship you can have with the town you grew up in. What’s more,
he strikes the right balance between universal stories and those unique to him, so it’s not just rattling off ’90s nostalgia. Saunders tonight plays to a much smaller crowd than his string off sold out podcast recordings. Podcast listeners should do themselves a favour and see Rosebud. Surprise, he’s very funny.
BY MITCH ALEXANDER
