Thebarton Theatre
Ross Noble pulled in his usual crowd of comedy lovers for his 2012 tour of Nonsensory Overload
Sliding onto the stage after a crafty video introduction Noble quickly strayed from any sensible routine to make comment on audience members – a tangent which lasted him close to the first hour of the show and right up to the interval. Coining the phrase “hit in the back of the head with a horse’s cock” the humour was basest, but par for the ‘Noble’ course
So talented is Noble, that it is often difficult to tell if he is ad-libbing his performance, or if it is just cleverly scripted to sound that way. But on this occasion, and with high expectations following last year’s show, Noble’s tangents were not nearly funny enough – and I found myself hoping he’d get back to the prepared material quickly.
Audience members were heard to comment that the jokes were similar to stuff they had heard before and Noble fans were airing on the slightly less than impressed side.
That being said, Noble did rouse great laughs from the two thousand strong audience, and no doubt left many with a feeling of great pleasure and enjoyment having been witness to his show.
Ever the crowd pleaser, Noble’s latest production was not at all bad, just perhaps not reaching new heights and setting new benchmarks for his stand-up styling’s.
Paul Rodda
When: 13 to 17 Mar
Where: Thebarton Theatre
Bookings: www.adelaidefringe.com.au
