Review – Amuse-Bouche

Showcase shows are tricky. They depend too much on the acts and if you happen to have below average guests, then the audience can feel ripped off. Conversely, if you end up going on a good night, then the audience gets great value for their money. Lucky for me, I went on a good night.

The guys who brought you a very successful show last year in Tonight with Tony are back this year with Amuse-Bouche.

The night I went, they had Pants Down Circus, Amos Gill and Paco Erhard. Ranging from ridiculously impressive to achingly funny, the acts were all very entertaining.

Unlike other showcase shows (and there seem to be a lot this year), Amuse-Bouche has brilliant production values. There’s multiple screens, different camera angles and funny and interactive games. The band is also very good with their timing. This show almost feels like a talk show on TV.

Where Amuse-Bouche falls short is the host. Pires Eddy needs to do more research, actually look interested in the acts and at-least occasionally be funny. It’s a shame that the ‘lead’ of the show doesn’t ‘perform’ well because everyone else in the crew, especially Marcel, playing the ‘assistant/clown’ role does entertain the crowd a fair bit.

All in all it’s a show worth checking out, even if the host doesn’t entertain you, their acts line-up is solid, so you’ll generally get good value for your money.

To be fair, Pires might just be having an ‘off’ night when we went to see it. – Ed