By Chloe Perrett
Kings of Comedy started off with great humour when I arrived at the venue on Friday evening only to discover that there had been a last minute venue change. The adventure begun! Walk 400 metres down the road and turn left, you’ll see a sign and head straight up the old star case and into an old, dusty and dark black box like room.
This is the kind of comedy Melbourne punters should be spending their hard earned pennies on. The show opened with a hilariously Aussie Simon Hughes who took no hesitation in putting the feelers out into the crowd to find out where audience members had travelled from, only to make clever quick jokes about how much people from Adelaide aren't present and Sydney-siders are well, mostly unpleasant (ass-holes for no good reason).
He hilariously warmed the small audience up with cringe worthy jokes about his history in alcoholism and explicit drugs, however this guy was nothing short of hilarious. Hughes is clearly a seasoned comedian and should be given a spot on national radio or a reality tv show that is purely set for him and his Aussie adventures around Melbourne.
The first cab off the rank is the awkward and curly haired master, Nick Capper - he graces the stage so uncomfortably that he has the audience feeling just as uncomfortable with a giggly undertone. This guy is playing the cards right. He banters about the relatable dull moments of having a day job in hospitality and how his girlfriend feels safe with him because it keeps all of the other weird men away. Capper starts to lose his edge and takes to the bald guy and peroxide blonde woman in the front row; mocking and ripping on them for how bad his act is going. The audience sits, awkwardly giggling and left unsure if Capper actually was serious about his act going to rubbish or it legitimately was all part of the act.
Second up is the tall and strange but nice looking, Evan Hocking. This man knows how to work a crowd from the moment he steps onto the stage, backing Capper's joke about the bald guy in the front row, however turning it around and complimenting, Mr. Bald on how handsome he is, straight away asking if he had long luscious locks and was a surfer back in the day.
Interval rolls around Hughes give the audience tips on the fastest way to get to the bar and use the bathroom all whilst still making us belly laugh.
Matt O’Neil caps off the night - this guy is ridiculously hilarious. Everything about him; his appearance, presence on stage and delivery of basic conversation has you belly laughing from the get-go. He opens up his act by cheering about how his online video has just hit 1 million views. The audience cheers in glee for him and then are crippled over when he announces that it’s a video he uploaded onto Porn hub. This cheeky guy is surely relatable for any man sitting in the audience as he beats away about his relationship status, trialling new jokes about Michael Jackson and George Pell.
However, it’s really Kirsty Webeck who takes the mic for the night. Webeck is the underground Gadsby of Melbourne and makes us all feel embarrassed if you didn’t know who she was before the evening. You almost want to ask Webeck out for a drink afterwards just to hear her talk some more. Do yourself a favour, if you haven’t seen a Webeck set, get yourself to her next show because you are guaranteed to be left with a sore face and aching belly from laughter.
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All opinions and thoughts expressed within reviews on Theatre Travels are those of the writer and not of the company at large.