Review – Dodgem Car Saviour

As a kid everyone thinks about what the want to be when they grow up. For some of us its a doctor or a fireman, some want to be a detective or a superstar, but Daniel Connell may be the first person ever to aspire to become a dodgem-car saviour.

Daniel takes the audience on a tour through his childhood, from fruit-bat infestations to the small town pastime of ‘roof rocking’ and a brief aspiration to become a drug dealer. All set in his quiet home town of Batemans Bay, Daniel recalls the misadventures that led him to dream up and then abandon careers in being a boxing-ring bikini girl, the guy that gets you un-stuck on the dodgem cars, and to finally settle on stand-up comedy. He cleverly revisits different parts of his story throughout the show, and makes sure to add an element of education for the audience with a public service announcement on your local ‘swooping hotspot’.

It’s clear that Daniel has put in a lot of work to create a funny and engaging show. When he gets to the part of his tale where he decides to become a comedian, he tells the audience that he kept it a secret from his friends in case they told him he wasn’t funny, which would “ruin everything”. It seems that he may have made a wise decision there, because although Daniel definitely had some good jokes and funny stories, he doesn’t have the presence of a naturally funny guy. Rather than a professional comedy show, I felt more like I was in a uni lecture that had a really funny professor. But it’s good that he wasn’t disuaded from fulfilling his dream, because while Daniel may not have you in stitches from start to finish, his relatable stories and likable nature ensures that you don’t walk away feeling like you’ve wasted your time or money. His show is almost a nice reminder that if you love what you do and work hard you really can do anything – except perhaps for the guy that works on the dodgem cars.​