People Crying ‘Adam Knox’ as They Leap From Planes

‘How would you like to be remembered?’ asks comedian Adam Knox, posing an opening question that takes in life, death and everything in between. In People Crying ‘Adam Knox’ as They Leap From Planes, 20-something Knox ventures close to a quarter-life crisis of sorts, as he exposes his fears about growing old and the future.

In 2012, Knox staged his debut Melbourne International Comedy Festival show, Adam Knox is All Washed Up. Now, more than a year later, Knox’s greatest change is probably in his physical shape: disgruntled, mid-way through the show, he proclaims, ‘I am the fattest I have ever been’, though in terms of physical appearance, Knox looks more like Irish cult comedian Dylan Moran – wild, dark hair and an ill-fitting suit to match.

Like Moran, Knox, too, possesses a certain languid demeanour in delivering his routine. Gifted with a genuinely amiable personality, he occasionally slurs his words as he engages the audience with diverse, uncanny topics, from childhood-written obituaries to the Beastie Boys, to openly mocking baseless, ‘blokey’ type of jokes, bad impersonations and observational comedy. However, the more he tries to distance himself from such conventions, the more he falls into a bad parody of such comedy tropes.

At just under 50 minutes, Knox maintains a decent stage presence throughout the show, though the pacing feels uneven. The meatiest part of the show is his foray into existential humour, which turns out to be more amusing than clever. At times, he delves into the absurd, even musing about an elephant’s unfailing memory, but it comes off feeling rather contrived.

People Crying ‘Adam Knox’ as They Leap From Planes proves to be more than just a wordy, quirky title. The show is good fun, and although Knox’s comic footing is fairly unassured, he shows a keen sense of determination and sincerity. Even with his occasionally clumsy delivery, it’s hard not to end up barracking for the guy. With just a little bit of polish, Adam Knox could easily become a great comic.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5