Adelaide Festival. Space Theatre. 26 Feb 2025
This show is remarkable and should be seen. It’s not standup comedy, but it feels like it, and the audience treats it that way. It’s fully scripted and there is no extemporisation. It comprises one-liner after one-liner and the audience are in stitches of laughter, almost constantly. The one-liners are deliciously written – the English language never sounded better in a standup routine - but … it’s not standup although the physical antics of the actor are easily the equal of the best stand-up comedian.
So, who is the actor, and what’s it all about? The ‘play’, for that’s what it is, is written by Marcelo Dos Santos and is possibly autobiographical. It’s about a stand-up comedian who is trapped in a world of one-night stands and doomed relationships, because the comedian – our unnamed protagonist – has a self-destructive approach to life: he’s not good enough for anyone, so he might as well kill off a relationship himself before his partner does. It’s simpler that way. Except, he meets someone – an American – who really seems to be Mr Right. However, the American suffers from cataplexy, which is a disorder whereby laughter causes dangerous muscular paralysis that can quickly lead to death. So, we have a comedian falling in love with someone who can never laugh at his jokes. It’s a narrative that any quality standup comedian could milk for a million dollars. And that’s exactly what Samuel Barnett does in the role of the comedian.
Barnett is a master of timing, gesture, and tonality, but above all he understands the importance of silence and volume modulation. He delivers the text at breakneck speed and every word is heard with crystal clarity; such is his superb articulation. The lighting is simple but effective, and it is the set: a series of fluorescent tubes that change colour as needed. The lighting changes are tied to changes in the narrative and Barnett synchronises superbly. Really, it’s quite masterful.
Listening to the storyline unfold is like wading into quicksand – it consumes you and you know that one grubby description of a sexual exploit is inexorably leading to another, but its compelling. You need to hear what’s coming next, and even you ‘know’ how it’s all going to end, you still need to hear it because you can’t really be sure. Dos Santos is overflowing with ambiguities, but that’s what makes it funny, and, under the astute and tight direction of Matthew Xia, Barnett knows how to milk it for everything it has, and then some.
Just superb.
Kym Clayton
When: 26 Feb to 2 Mar
Where: Space Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefestival.com.au
