Toby Halligan is the Bad Gay | Connections Nightclub | Feb 7 | ★ ★ 1/2

Toby Halligan sees himself as a ‘bad gay’. Toby doesn’t see himself as an admirable dancer, a snappy dresser, nor does he keep a small bag-sized dog on his person at all times. Toby sets out to poke a little fun at his outsider status and he recounts tales of not quite fitting in.

As a writer for ‘The Project’, Halligan must be an expert at crafting jokes, though his stand up delivered jokes at a rapid fire pace, barely allowing anything to land. Often working the room, Halligan spent a little too much time paring the audience for a cheesy first album he could relate to – which came to a rather awkward speed-bump when he didn’t know who Linda Ronstadt was.

The premise of Halligan’s stand-up show sounded familiar to me. As a younger man, I found it hard to relate to many other men in the LGBT community (which I later realised came from a place of self-loathing because I was not yet comfortable with myself). Halligan’s set leans heavily on this premise, but much of the humour feels less like light-hearted self-deprication and more of a purposeful distancing from gay stereotypes.

Stereotypes make for easy reference points in comedy, but in an increasingly politically correct world – they need to be executed carefully to elicit the right response. Halligan felt so far removed from the gay world, he didn’t know what references to make anymore (I don’t think anybody “speaks Poodle” buddy).

Halligan’s set was peppered with some solid laughs, and had the audience along for the ride – but I felt more compelled to give him a hug and let him know there’s no right way to be gay.

Catch Toby Halligan is the Bad Gay at Connections Nightclub, February 5-7. Tickets available at Fringeworld.com.au

Leigh Hill