Dolly Diamond. Alive, Intimate and Up Late.

Bigger than life and sequined to showcase it, armed with a voice that's powerful enough to strip paint at 50 yards and buckets of bawdy wit, drag performer par excellence Dolly Diamond barraged onto a tiny stage at the Melbourne Town Hall's Metro Room to provide an hour’s worth of solid late-night entertainment.

Backed by longtime accompanist Mark Jones on keyboard, who belted out a couple of solid numbers in his own right, Ms Diamond effortlessly took command of the stage and showed us how a real pro does it - putting those tired old mime artists I remember from my misspent youth at Patchs and the Albury well in the shade.

Ms Diamond and Mr Jones have built up a terrifically engaging repartee and their joy in working with each other shines through the barbs. Ms Diamond also poked plenty of fun at herself, particularly her weight, and the venue also came in for a good deal of bucketing, well-deserved given the soaring temperature in the tiny room, which as she predicted saw her makeup deteriorate rapidly.

A special guest has been promised for each night of this run of Melbourne Comedy Festival shows, and tonight it was Ally Fowler, late of the Chantoozies. She did her best to hold her own against Ms Diamond, who it must be said sang her under the table - but again, there was plenty of camaraderie on display, rather than rivalry.

The one hour show seemed for the most part unscripted, with Ms Diamond freewheeling her way through and delivering some zingy ad libbed one liners to audience members, and was all over much too fast. For Comedy Festival attendees this is a great way to finish the night: with a fun show from a polished professional.

Alex Paige