What really drives Mick Overman’s material in Hold On is her ability to mix wider generalisations with specifics about her own experiences of a given scenario or norm. It’s quite unassuming in that the undercurrent of this hour deals with quite a heavy and personal subjects told through the lens of coping mechanisms, but the way in which Overman talks about them is sometimes quite silly.
An incredibly engaging performer on a personal and comedic level that just makes this hour enjoyable to watch and a privilege to be a part of
A question is posed at the start of the hour by Overman, which everything links back to. She essentially pops the bubble on social norms and things that just are with her comedy and tone, which provides a, “This is weird right?” underlying tone to everything. Interspersed in this show are personal anecdotes as she segues into tangents that over-explain the initial scenario, creating a kind of spiral of thought that constantly calls back to earlier material to emphasize or elongate a joke, basically to keep us laughing as much and as long as possible. It's almost as if she is giving us a visual example of her thought process and looping us into it. There’s a degree that Overman becomes emotionally and physically involved in the material, she’s not just telling jokes and weaving her narrative, she’s living the material in the moment. In addition, occasionally there’s a slight glint in Overmna’s eye, a sort of anticipation of the punchline, of our reaction, but whether that’s mischief, pride in the quality of her material, or a mixture of both, only she knows.
There’s an ongoing commentary that Overman engages in about her own material, making off-the-cuff jokes or one-liners, adding dynamism to her performance. There’s never a dull moment or a missed beat, and over the course of Hold On, and Overman completely holds our attention, which in the age of social media, is a rarity.
It’s not always clear why we're laughing because of anything more than Overman is just a naturally funny person, to the point where it becomes as easy as breathing for us. Overman’s comedy is this strange mix of silly and powerful, focusing in on herself and her experiences to exemplify the larger forces at work around us. She’s an incredibly engaging performer on a personal and comedic level that just makes this hour enjoyable to watch and a privilege to be a part of.
