FRINGE 2013 – Stephen K Amos – The Gov – 4.5K

By Rupert Hogan-Turner

Stephen K Amos is intoxicating. The man has unrivaled stage presence, from the moment he announces himself on stage the audience is transfixed, unable to look away. Even the Gen Y’s stayed off their smart phones.

His comedy theory is advanced, he uses a combination of political savvy, local knowledge and an incredibly fast wit to tell a series of tales which flow through each other with finesse. I was incredulous at some points, his wit seemed too quick, inhumanely fast. However the alternative was that the vast majority of the crowd were plants, which is highly illogical. Instead of shying away from his audience Amos captivated it and used the momentum to progress his show. Amos learns from his audience and recites anything mentioned to him later in the show as a running gag. The audience then feels invited into the show, there is a feeling of ownership, control which relaxes the performance.

Despite being from ‘the mother country’ Stephen has sound knowledge of the past twelve months of Australian history. He threw in jokes aimed at our politicians, recent weather conditions, Adelaide related jokes and eating habits. He may not have known what an echidna was until someone yelled it at him last night but he certainly knows enough about Australia.

Stephen works to tell a tale, his jokes have a point and an underlying theory which he explores with the audience. It brings a higher level of humour, one which makes the audience question the tale themselves, wonder why the actions Amos discusses take place. This is the apex of stand up, where an audience goes not simply to laugh but to learn, to question activities which are considered ordinary yet never questioned. For example, Amos asks why we eat cows and not horses, why is eating one animal acceptable but another, largely similar animal detestable?

I thoroughly believe Amos could simply walk onto the stage and stand there mute for an hour and still receive positive reviews, the atmosphere of the performance was buzzing before he even took to the stage. He has the audience entertained before they even walk in, all I could hear were people questioning what he would talk about and reciting his old material.

Definitely a show to see this Fringe, outstanding, hilarious comedy.

 

Kryztoff Rating    4.5 K

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