Mr Snotbottom – whose first name remains unpronounceable – is a children’s entertainer whose one-man live show contains literal spit-takes, fart jokes and loo ghosts. Leaning heavily into toilet humour and stand-up slapstick, the ukulele-toting host channels the comedic essence of Jim Carey in mannerism, expression and form. This is clearly not a coincidental resemblance.
Mr Snotbottom begins with a series of skits ranging in nature from ‘clumsily getting dressed’ to ‘brushing teeth with increasingly gross objects’. Intentionally incompetent in the service of physical comedy, the character of Mr Snotbottom takes a while to get his shoes on, and get into the swing of the show. The repetition of his struggles cause a disconnection between the host and attendees until a combination of catchy songs and audience participation fixes the issue of awkward pacing.
Most of the laughs come from the show’s main target demographic of under sevens, but parents can find some amusement too, particularly in the second half of the show. Improvised lyrics (and non-improvised ukulele) combine to create a series of entertaining jingles, some of which cleverly include the names of individual audience members. A song about saying hello sets the tone, while another about the neutral nature of the existence of fathers shows how low the dad bar can go, amusing some mothers as much as their kids.
Mr Snotbottom is a silly, rude and energetic exercise in crude humour for children aged four to 10. It may speak to anyone who has ever thought that the concept of living inside another person is weird enough to be discussed in song form. Some of the gags are slightly repetitive and the pacing is bottom-heavy (pun intended), but the last 20 minutes of the show are hilarious.
Read: Performance review: Strictly Barking
Mr Snotbottom will appeal to excitable five-year-olds, future comedians and parents in need of a 50-minute break.
Mr Snotbottom
The Pleasure Garden, FRINGE WORLD,
Mr Snotbottom was performed from 20-29 January 2023 as part of FRINGE WORLD in Perth. It will be touring to various venues across Australia from 25 February to 23 April 2023.
