Despite a 30 second snatch of the theme music and the name, Family Ties has nothing to do with the late and unlamented sitcom. Instead, it’s an assured, confident and funny exploration of how our family lives shape us. Many comedians use their wacky families as material for stand-up, but Family Ties is refreshing for Nelly Thomas’ clear affection for the members of her family who appear in this character driven show.

Exploring aspects of your own personality on stage can often be a recipe for introspective stand-up that doesn’t engage an audience, but Nelly Thomas resists the temptation to leave her audience behind, with a genuine warmth that is as engaging as it is funny. Family Ties examines how Nelly herself would have been different if her family circumstances had been changed’if she had absorbed (Christian) faith, if she had been born into wealth, or if she had been born a man. In the latter, Thomas avoids the stock ‘men and women are different’ comedy cliches, opting for a character based affectionately on an uncle from her small-town Western Australian roots.

Family Ties is solid proof that right-on, left leaning comedy needn’t confine itself to clobbering John Howard or trying to ram every issue that we dislike into one show. Instead, with affection for family and community, we can laugh at ourselves as well as the world. Nelly Thomas’ Family Ties and is the kind of show we need much more of.

Finished reading this article? You might also like:

• Nelly Thomas – I Coulda Been A Sailor
• Mother Of The Year Featuring Nelly Thomas, Christine Basil & Catherine Deveny
• Comedy Zone (The)