Review by Alison Stoddart
The Sydney Comedy Festival introduces not only up and coming comedians to a wider audience but also tried and true artists who have perfected their craft. Nikki Britton’s 60-minute show at the Factory Floor theatre is a slick affair that has the audience captivated from the start. An impressive performer who has obviously put in the work to make successful comedy, she delivers a well-rehearsed diatribe whilst making it seem off the cuff. Adept at creating a narrative arc she ensures the audience is emotionally invested as she draws together the strands of her act during the course of the show. She expertly implements the highly effective tactic of pushing a joke further than thought possible. Interacting with her audience without making them the focus of the act, she is a brilliant mimic - a special call out to her drunk persona (she does ditsy really well). She also uses her props to great effect. Her dating photos of various doubtful men builds to an hilarious punchline. She especially is spot on with her observations of online dating pics, to the hilarity of the women in the audience. Britton’s writing shines when she masterfully intertwines her single dating life online with her covid inspired hunt to purchase a rescue dog. She draws a wicked parallel between Elite Singles and rescue dog sites. Her finale of photos of her new pup Mal captivates the audience.
Clever writing combined with timing, facial expression and body language, Britton leads you into a thought process. She pauses to let you get ahead of her while all the time being way ahead of her audience. She is in fact leading you. Waiting for her audience to digest, dissect and embrace what she has fed them, she then plays at catch up, all the while knowing she has led you there in the first place. Adept at letting the obvious sit in her audience’s mind during the delivery, the final uppercut exposes what we are all thinking. She creates humour by voicing what we are already thinking, which was planted there by her in the first place. And this mutual agreement just makes it so much funnier - she gets us, she knows where our minds are wandering, and in return we trust her. She has us right where she wants us, leaning in for every word, eating out of the palm of her hand. Just like Mal her beloved rescue dog, for we are the same.
Nikki Britton is self-deprecating, lovable and sensitive, a dog lover who owns the stage and is well worth a visit.
Image Supplied