Image via Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Fast becoming such a Comedy Festival and Forum Theatre regular I’m surprised he’s not paying rent, the grossly talented Angus Brown returns with another evening of dirty, beautifully constructed and honest stories about the absurdity of life and this time, it’s perhaps his most personal To Adventure.
Eschewing the million-mile-an-hour delivery of his previous shows, To Adventure follows his whirlwind proposal to his wife – a proposition he made within a mere three days of meeting her! And the method with which this Romeo wooed his Juliet? A foiled wrapped kebab.
Naturally, that seems an insane gesture by anyone’s estimation, and much of Brown’s material stems from his peers’ reactions – from the cynical to the disbelieving – and Brown has found a goldmine of great material. But the show becomes most alive when the impulsive act of proposing is placed in the context of Brown’s hit-and-miss love life: admissions he’s never been on a date, a story involving a didn’t-quite-happen threesome in his hometown of Daylesford involving a crush and an ex-girlfriend as well as the strangest interaction with hospital staff at the birth of his daughter are all at once hilarious and poignant in their honesty. His self-depreciation is given extra push by revealing pictures of various stages of his life which, self-drawn works as they are, would probably see most four year olds beating him in the arts stakes!
Brown’s stage presence hasn’t changed, possessing the same wonderful dynamism and diverse acting ability displayed in his previous shows. But this is his best show by far. His handling of a crowd is masterful, blending written material with off-the-cuff witticisms and audience interactions like it’s no one’s business.
To Adventure is hilarious and heartwarming, and delivered by a comic who keeps developing with every unfolding show. Let’s see what other badly planned and impulsive decisions he’s yet to make. Don’t miss this show; it certainly is one of the highlights of an overcrowded comedy festival.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
Angus Brown: To Adventure
Presented by Mockingbird Orange Productions
Pizza Room, Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Until 17 April
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
www.comedyfestival.com.au
23 March – 17 April 2016
