Review – Asher Treleaven hosts Comedy Lab
I arrived too late to catch Nick Harris – what I thought was an 8 for 8.30 start turned out to be a 7.30 for 8 start – and all I caught from him was a joke about his fear of being sodomised by a clown. To make up for missing his set, though, I’m making clowns the theme of the soundtrack to this review. You’re welcome, everyone.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-w7Fd3wj4U&list=PLQIHME9Klez8UxX5pZwzJFuT7zalxpPsD&h=38&w=400]
Thursday nights at the Rhino Room means Comedy Lab: new material from established comedians. And it was great to see some of Adelaide’s top comedians try material outside of their usual repertoire. But the belle of the ball was visiting Melbourne comic Asher Treleaven: those who’ve seen him before know to expect something special, and he didn’t disappoint. The night soon found him prancing about the stage, like a ballerina in a Peter Pan production, inviting us to imagine the wondrous and magical town of Mt Isa. And it’s this, his theatricality and his skewed sense of humour, that totally cemented what might have otherwise been a bit of a quiet night.
A quiet night? Well, not many people turned out to see the comedy on this particular Thursday night. And, as we all know, comedy is a lot funnier when you have a roomful of punters. But Asher worked hard to keep up the energy levels and made the event one worth staying out for.
Asher aside, the highlight act of the night for me was Jason Pestell: his anecdotes about drunken hecklers were well-told, funny and memorable. Honourable mention goes to Justin Stone for his ex-Rundle Preacher skit, which was a brilliant premise. (Even if the implementation needs some work, but then that’s what these nights are for!) Dishonourable mention to Joseph Hynes for the disturbing use he found for a piece of plastic (don’t ask). Dave Webb’s powerpoint presentation fell a bit flat (maybe Abbott jokes just aren’t funny now that he’s actually Prime Minister) and Julia Clarke might have been literally dying on stage thanks to the flu, but all round it was a pretty solid evening of laughs and levity.
