STEPHEN K AMOS (UK) WHAT: The Spokesman WHERE: Enmore Theatre WHEN: May 9-11
WHAT: Romance And Adventure WHERE: Yalumba Wine Bar @ Enmore Theatre WHEN: Friday 3 and Saturday 4 May
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Stephen K. Amos photo by James Penlidis
MEL BUTTLE
tephen K Amos might well be the classiest gentleman in comedy, but that doesn’t mean he’ll shy away from a naughty punch line when it’s there. In fact, the best thing about a night with Amos is witnessing the obvious fun he derives from teasing out the cheekiest angles of an anecdote. The grin on his face says it all: Amos is aware he’s flirting with danger, but better still, he knows he’ll get away with it. Amos is somehow innately in tune with the mood of his audience. He’ll pick on someone in the crowd if they’re asking for it, but only in the way that a border collie nibbles lovingly at its playmate. Other comics set up to deliver haymakers – jokes that come around suddenly and knock an audience to the floor with laughter and gasping in equal measures. Amos starts by eliciting a smile, then a chuckle, then the payoff; somehow it feels more organic, just a nice fella whom you can’t help but like, telling a few stories you can’t help but enjoy. Sure, he’s got a background from which to draw some easy material – his race, his homosexuality, his Britishness – but making comedy flow is the hard part, and at that Amos is unbeatable. CM
JOSIE LONG WHAT: Romance And Adventure WHERE: Yalumba Wine Bar @ Enmore Theatre WHEN: April 25 - 27
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osie Long has just turned 30, which means like many people her age she’s been let down by expectations of a sudden dawn of post-twenties enlightenment. Now, life is as complex as ever: the concerns over social justice that developed in Long’s young adulthood have been soured by experience and the frustration that nothing changes, yet deep down the entertainer-cum-activist knows she must keep going with the cause. It doesn’t sound like the ideal material for a tight festival set, yet this is exactly what Long has come up with. By synthesising the contradictions of youth and maturity into a
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t’s a relief to see Mel Buttle out under a spotlight of her own. Over the last year or two, she’s popped up as a some-time sidekick to Tom and Alex on the triple j breakfast program and as a podcast co-host to the overenthusiastic Patience Hodgson of The Grates. And yet Buttle is regularly the standout talent in all of her collaborations. Her awkward and self-pitying style of humour hits a familiar note, sure, but it’s how well she does it that makes her special. Buttle builds her act around the ideal downtrodden comedy character; the cute and naïve loner whose struggles to keep her life under control engender a simultaneous empathy and disbelief in her audience. We all know someone like this – an only-child redhead whose best friend is a cat – but Buttle is the one prepared to put it all on show. All that’s to be done in return is chuckle along with her and hope that her reality isn’t all this bad. In the meantime, her comedy star is rising fast. Down in Melbourne, How Embarrassment has won outstanding reviews, and all going well, she’ll soon be one of our most popular international exports. CM
one-hour performance, Josie somehow makes a little more sense of it. As a teller of jokes, she’s irresistible: that Kent accent instils an automatic air of ridicule over whatever political dinosaur rises in her crosshairs, but doubles as a point of self-mockery when she’s spinning an anecdote about her own successes and failures. Occasionally, Long’s rhythm is derailed by her pure outrage at a given political figure or corporate behemoth, and this comedy show becomes a chargedup rally cry – but overall, her combination of thoughtfulness and enthusiasm means she stands out above the majority of her young(ish) peers. CM
JIM JEFFERIES WHERE: Enmore Theatre WHEN: May 10-13
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n audience with Jim Jefferies is not for the faint of heart. In fact, tickets to his show should probably come with pre-prepared letters of complaint – just sign there and initial here – such is Jefferies’ fondness for expletive-laden rants about sex, drugs and societal taboos. But if you can stand all that, the expat Aussie comic pays dividends: he’s something like a real-life version of Heath Franklin’s ‘Chopper’ character, downright beloved by the Brits and catapulted to fame in 2007 when an outraged Manchester customer invaded the stage to punch him in the face. Unpredictable as a Jefferies set may be, he’s sure to hit a few favourite notes: expect a colourful story about binging on cocaine and prostitutes in a penthouse hotel, for one – and then there’ll be the inevitable exchange with a (hopefully non-violent) heckler as well. A warning: don’t be the guy that Jefferies goes after, because you’ll lose. And for all the swearing, aggression and sick-to-your-stomach material through which Jefferies charges like some ravenous ape, he’s actually a genius storyteller. You just have to accept the likelihood that you’ll be shockingly offended at least once in the hour, because short odds say you’ll laugh yourself to tears as well. CM
DANIEL SLOSS (SCOT)
ROSS NOBLE (UK)
WHAT: The Show WHERE: The Factory Theatre Container WHEN: Thursday April 25
WHAT: Mindblender WHERE: Sydney Entertainment Centre WHEN: Saturday April 20
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ntil the infuriating arrival of Geordie Shore on our television screens, Ross Noble was everyone’s sole point of reference for buffoons from Newcastle in England’s north east. And how we liked it that way: Noble, like perhaps no other stand-up on the international circuit, is completely in on his own joke. If you haven’t seen the man live before, you should know that his show usually starts with one rambling story, then descends into another and another, inspired by whatever flies his way. If you have seen his show before, you’re probably still waiting for the conclusions to half of those stories. For Noble is the great wandering nomad of the stage, frolicking around – physically and figuratively – on absurdist tangents from which there is often no return.
-year-old Scotsman Daniel Sloss might have the blonde locks, blue eyes and bony, androgynous features of a Scandinavian pop star – but he is, in fact, one hilarious young man. Sloss has only just moved out of his parents’ home, but already for his sins he’s been slapped with the dreaded ‘Next Big Thing’ label. And he’s responded in the best way possible: by getting out there, everywhere, and proving he’s worth it. For five years running, Sloss has been to the Edinburgh Fringe, taking away with him all manner of breathless reviews, and this year marks his third visit to the Sydney Comedy Festival since 2010. It’s via this insatiable appetite for hard work and performance that Sloss has fashioned himself into a master of comedy execution – he delivers his gags with an expertise that other artists take many more years to realise. Jerry Seinfeld has spoken at length about how changing a single word in a joke can affect its delivery entirely, and Sloss’ act is the proof. His one-and two-liners are smart, swift and utterly funny. If you’re going to take a chance on something this Festival, make it this. CM
26 :: BRAG :: 508 :: 15:04:13
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Sure, it can be frustrating; but only if you’re looking for a point. Noble thinks in the way the rest of us dream – the joy is in watching him make those connections that no-one else can perceive until they’ve happened. And by golly, he’s sharp. Once Noble has had his way, you’ll walk out exhausted – if not from hysterical laughter, certainly from the effort of just trying to keep up. CM