Keith Farnan @ Underbelly

Keith Farnan approaches feminism from the humble perspective of a man who loves women. It's a risky thing to do; after all, who is he, a man, to talk about the oppression of women?

He pulls it off wonderfully though. Not only is he intelligent, thoughtful and engaging, but he is a natural wit, pulling some of his best jokes completely out of the blue through little hiccups and accidents, forming a genuine bond with the audience. He's light-hearted and self deprecating but it doesn't mask his cleverness; it creates a vehicle for it to shine through.

If I had to criticise him for one thing it might be that he approaches the subject a little timidly, but then he is a man and, arguably, it's not really his fight. I came away feeling uplifted but a little ashamed; he's right! Why aren't women angrier, why aren't we more politicised? How on earth did push-up bras for seven-year-olds manage to sneak past us? And what does it say about us that it's taken a man to point these injustices out?

He achieves such sublime balance throughout that the comedy never suffers because of the subject matter. He handles the whole thing masterfully, creating wonderful comedy which is also, for men and women, a very important wake-up call. This is political comedy at its best; perfectly balanced, deadly serious and very funny.