Presented by Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Reviewed 8 March 2014
Yesterday saw Adelaide welcome back British favourite, Paul Foot.
Strange and surreal, Foot is a new breed of comic who asks his audience to follow him as he weaves his intricate tales which only end with a traditional punch line about half the time.
His steady mix of rambling wordplay, contradictions, situational humour and physical comedy, (at times you question if his performance is an act, an affected character twitch or a physical disability like Tourette’s), make you laugh both at the situation and at the fact that you are laughing.
Paul opens the show with a cacophony of jumbled up and disassociated words that for some reason become hilariously funny when he says them, (I believe there was something about an electric otter, or similar, which had me in stiches). He admits at the beginning of this skit that he has no idea why you will laugh, and that you will wonder yourself, but you soon are filled with delightful warm fuzzies and looking forward to the next trick that Foot will pull out of his briefcase or glitter-bombed jacket.
His take on contemporary events like Australian politics or the global misunderstanding of homosexuals in society leads to some side-splitting one liners and some merry flirting on just the right side of political correctness. He is direct and demanding of his audience, but never alienating or offensive, and moderates his personal attacks and weird stories with avant-garde situational comedy written on cards with his own personal, childlike drawings. These ‘disturbances’, as Foot calls them, are a staple of his work, and appear throughout the show… and at the merchandise table at the conclusion of the show.
His performance may not be to everyone’s taste, and you may ask yourself more than once what the hell is going on, but it all makes sense in the head of that small, strange little man. Ultimately, as Foot predicted, you will find yourself laughing out loud and not really knowing why, and then being absolutely convinced that you just heard the best joke in the world. Such is the duality of a Paul Foot stand-up gig, and I for one loved every minute of it.
Reviewed by Jenna Woods
Venue: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, 251 Rundle St, Adelaide
Season: 9, 11-15 March 2014
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets: $28.00 – $32.00
Bookings: Book through FringeTix online or phone 1300 621 255
- Adelaide Fringe website
- Melbourne International Comedy Festival website
- Palace Nova Eastend cinemas website
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