Review: Gillian Cosgriff’s Fresh New Worries at Arts Centre Melbourne

Review by Benjamin Lamb

Before we all made our ways into Gillian Cosgriff’s 2025 offering Fresh New Worries, us audience members had to jot down a worry and put it in a box for Gillian to read out during the show. These worries tie the show together, a strong and well written hour on the world of worrying — it’s something we’ve all got, even Gillian.

The hour also dives into the world of Pandora’s Box, her relationship with her musical loving - but now army enlisted nephew, Uber drivers and hairdressers with not so good views, and so much more.

While it wouldn’t be fair to repeat the joke here, a highlight came when Gillian discussed her employment and subsequent resignation at the store Crazy Clark’s Discount Store, an intriguing story that’ll have you on the edge of your seat and get you hooked every step of the way. While a lot of the show was filled with great humour and music, another through line was lessons, Fresh New Worries will teach you a little bit too. Like the power of saying ‘I Don’t Know’, Gillian knows perfectly how to craft jokes surrounding a lesson.

While Gillian’s stand up material was strong, highlights came whenever it was time for a song, few of them were littered in the perfect spaces throughout the hour. It had the perfect mix of musical skill, humour, and catchy hook to illustrate why she’s one of the best to do it. This came with either a solo song on the piano, or building a band through her voice and a loop pedal.

The best track coming after mentioning her obsession with her phone, stating it’s giving too much attention to billionaires. It had the perfect mix of all the stuff that has made Cosgriff an award winner at the Comedy Festival in years passed. I don’t know about the rest of the audience, but it was the song this reviewer had in his head on the way out of the theatre.

There was a great bit of warmth as the show was in it’s final stretch, with Gillian bringing out a singing bass fish, the perfect antidote to worries. Closing out with the title song ‘Fresh New Worries’, a feel good tune, Gillian set us all off with a smile on our faces and maybe a little bit more at peace with the worries we’ve got.