Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review: Stephen K Amos – The Laughter Master

Amos has been appearing at Adelaide Fringe for ten years now, and it’s clear that he’s an audience favourite.

Presented by Mary Tobin
Reviewed 23 February 2016

The Laughter Master himself, Stephen K Amos, opened his Fringe 2016 show to an almost capacity crowd at the Arts Theatre. Amos has been appearing at Adelaide Fringe for ten years now, and it’s clear that he’s an audience favourite.

Demonstrating his Teflon-coated ability to rebuff hecklers within seconds of entering the stage, Amos pointed out to one poor unfortunate that if people wanted to hear her speak, they’d be queuing outside her home, not his show. This set the tone and theme for the evening, which was Amos’s focus on conflict and its various forms in our world today. He pointed out that when he was growing up, trolls were creatures that lived under bridges, not online, unsupervised with a keyboard. He discussed Britain’s historic approach to war — pick on those weaker than you and run away from those stronger, and pointed out that the symptoms of being in love are much the same as those for Malaria.

It’s Amos’s rapport with the audience and his off-the-cuff jokes and stories that make his show. His stage presence and charisma are palpable and he maintained control of the laughter-switch with complete professionalism for the whole hour.

While The Laughter Master was a truly enjoyable night of comedy, it would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Amos does rehash many gags from previous shows. He’s known for making fun of The Royals, but he needs some new stories—those featured in 2016’s show have been around since I reviewed him in 2009, as have plenty of others that I’ve heard before. This is fine if you’re new to Stephen K Amos’s shows, but if you’ve seen him before and plan on going back for seconds, you’ll get a lot of the same-old. It’s a bit disingenuous to slap old material together with a new name and pretend it’s all shiny and new, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you haven’t seen Amos before, you’ll love it, and even if you have, you’ll probably still laugh ‘cos he is a funny, funny guy. He also gave a heads-up that he’ll be appearing at a charity gig for breast cancer in The Garden next Monday night with a fellow, unnamed comedian.

Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 (would’ve been a 4 if he’d had all new jokes)

Venue: Arts Theatre
Season: 23 Feb – 13 March
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets: Cheap Tuesday: $33.00 Adult: $36.00, BankSA Customer: $33.00, Companion Card, Concession: $33.00, Group 6+: $33.00, TREv: $33.00
Bookings: Book through FringeTix online or at a FringeTix box office (booking fees apply)

http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au

homepage

 

More News

To Top