Review by Tatum Stafford
Transitioning from pandemic-era TikTok creation to an hour-long solo stand-up show is no mean feat, and it was a joy to be in the audience for Emerson Brophy’s Perth debut of his show ‘Saccharine’ this Fringe season.
Emerson is a musical and lyrical force to be reckoned with: a few seconds of any of his TikTok videos make this plain. So when he took to the mic at the Ellington - loop pedal, uke and keyboard in tow - it was clear we were in for something special. Opening with a short intro song before transitioning to the boppy title tune “Saccharine”, his voice is gorgeous to listen to and his ability to connect with everyone in the room via a playful nod or aptly piercing eye contact should be commended.
The show’s highlight song for me came in the middle; a catchy ukulele number titled “Boomer Kind of Love”, touching on all of the boomer trademarks that we know, love, and hate them for, including comfortable home ownership, ignorance of ongoing societal issues like climate change and trans rights, and plenty more chestnuts that had the audience simultaneously giggling and cringing as we examined the state of our world.
This segued really well into one of the show’s penultimate numbers which echoed the phrase, “Why do you get out of bed?”. After a brief bit of audience participation with a looping station (that unfortunately didn’t go quite to plan on the afternoon I attended), he launched into the powerful song which included more looping and an interlude of dialogue that felt poignant and relevant.
The show was interspersed with crowdwork, and armed with a clicker, his jokes were bolstered by onscreen images, graphs, and gags that enhanced his talking points (if I may be so bold by referring to his past career as a management consultant). There were a few jokes that took him a while to get the audience onboard with, but his self-awareness and overall commitment to the bit made the show pacey and well balanced between song and dialogue.
Emerson believes the world would be better if we all shared our opinions. After all, we’ve all got them, so why keep them quiet? It was a very thought-provoking and enjoyable piece, and I’m certain it’s not the last we’ll see of him on the cabaret scene. I look forward to catching his next show and encourage you to do the same.
