Review – Capital Punishment

The comedy festival is as much a platform to nurture emerging talent as it is an opportunity to spend an hour desperately clinging to your seat and laughing so hard that you wish you’d worn a nappy. I knew going into Capital Punishment that it fit into the former category and I sat in a cramped room, with my knee’s pressed uncomfortably into the chair in front of me, I hoped that a secret gem of the festival was about to be uncovered.

Unfortunately the 5 comedians from Canberra that each took the stage for around 15 minutes mostly signposted their jokes, delivered punch lines that smacked you across the head and then followed them with pregnant pauses for recognition. This was served up close enough to feel the nervous tension and make the atmosphere slightly uncomfortable.

However it seems a little unfair to morph the 5 comedians into a ten-legged talentless beast, lurching towards the audience begging to be put out of its misery. There were definitely highlights. Danny Phillipa delivered quirky tales about magical beards, summoning the essence of Russell Brand; he had gone to university to study geology instead of becoming a heroin and sex addict. This was nicely balanced out by Greg Kimball’s relaxed and down to earth delivery that made him feel instantly familiar.

Whether they were developing their craft, rough around the edges or a long way off, it’s important that emerging, home-grown comedians are given the chance to develop their craft and do the thing they love, only time will tell who will make it in the long run.