The Paradoxical Adventures of Lawrence Leung & Andrew McClelland: Time Ninjas
Lawrence Leung & Andrew McClelland @ Bosco Theater
9:30pm, Wed 11 Mar 2009
I’m buggered if I know why I do this to myself.
I know exactly what I’m up for when I see a Leung / McClelland show; plenty of jolly, matey japes, lame jokes tied together with tenuous twine, a few PowerPoint decks and videos, a very feelgood effort without much bite. And that’s what Time Ninjas delivered in spades… but with an even more flimsy premise. And an audience plant. And singing. Bad singing (okay, okay – McClelland has a booming voice that can hold a tune, but Leung? Not so much).
So when this show opens with a cheery Time Ninjas song (“the comedy festival, the Adelaide Fringe-a / we’ll be there, we’re the Time Ninjas!”), I’m inwardly sighing. I’ve done it again. I’ve come along to another show, hoping that its performers have advanced their art, when in actual fact I should be rationalising and thinking that, by paying for previous shows, I’ve help cement the acceptance of their existing style.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I like McClelland / Leung’s style, and their time-travelling escapades (to help prevent Adolf Hitler’s birth by seducing his mum-to-be, and to help Lawrence become more confident with women by overcoming his 15-year-old rejection trauma) are entertaining enough; but not $21 entertaining. And, more importantly for me right now, not one hour entertaining. I almost wish they only did a half-hour slot, like Sheehan or Burr; that’d encourage a tightening of the script, a focusing of ideas, and the opportunity to get a little edgier.
No, I do know why I keep doing this to myself – it’s because I keep hoping they’ll get closer to my idea of what they could be. Then again, I want them to bring back their old podcast too, because that was ace.