The Chieng Reaction

Still a relative newcomer on the comedy scene, Ronny Chieng’s star has been rising rapidly in the past year – something he lets us know about early on in the piece.

After recently appearing on a number of Australian television shows including It’s a Date, Legally Brown and This is Littleton, Chieng has been beset by people recognising him in the street and at the grocery store.

However – despite employing an I-am-better-than-you character, similar to UK comedian’s Simon if-you-are-struggling-to-place-my-accent- it’s- educated Evans, he manages to maintain a sweet charm – quite a difficult mix.

This combination embodies his comedic persona. Chieng is very effective in cultivating his character, although there are some areas where this approach needs a little refining.

The comedian’s cynical yet sweet approach is further demonstrated by the way he deals with latecomers to the show. Chieng displays obvious disapproval, but is not unpleasant enough to put anyone offside. In the hands of another comedian this interaction could have appeared mean spirited.

Chieng uses his background as fertile ground for material. With Malaysian-Chinese roots, Chieng was raised in the USA and Singapore before moving to Australia and gaining a Commerce/Law degree from the University of Melbourne.

Touching on everything from the social mores of dating in modern times (he reckons he’s not that good at it); interacting with women; dealing with the expectations of Asian parents and Apple store employees; racism and his new-found prejudice against anyone aged under 25, Chieng’s ‘patented over-reaction’ is in full flow.

His often dead-pan delivery is also quite effective; as is his use of repetition to emphasise the joke that is coming up.

While much of Chieng’s one-hour set is good, he is battling a sore throat on the night of the review and it does seem to throw his concentration a little with the comedian frequently referring to his notes.

Chieng is able to make a joke about it the first time he needs to refer to them, but subsequent referrals often break into the feeling of a free-flowing set – something a more experience performer may be able to avoid.

However, Chieng really is a rising star and even on an off-night he manages to make most of his jokes stick and keep the crowd amused.