[2013120] Afternoon Fringe Showcase
Nik Coppin, John Burgos, Micah D Higbed, Stuart Mitchell @ Austral Hotel – Red Room
4:45pm, Sun 10 Mar 2013
As previously indicated, I’ve changed my mind about the value of ensemble shows: where once I was adamant it was a better proposition to give an artist money (more) directly, as my tastes have broadened I would rather the opportunity to see as many performers in as efficient manner as possible. And so, with a gap in the Schedule, I managed to sneak in a visit to the Austral’s Afternoon Fringe Showcase: the Red Room was absolutely packed and, whilst I managed to snaffle a seat by an ever-so-slightly cooler window, I still yearned for a dry heat somewhere in the low forties… it must have been a very sticky forty-five in the Room, making it incredibly uncomfortable.
Nik Coppin, who also manages the Showcase, made light of the heat & humidity and emceed with his usual cheer. Trotting out some familiar shark material – and a little taster of his racist/racism material – he also managed some good-natured callbacks with audient “John” from Perth throughout the show.
John Burgos was the first feature act of the afternoon, and – leveraging his swarthy looks – his terrorist material really hit the mark. On the other hand, Micah D Higbed based his spot on some heavy-handed analysis of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which tanked… badly. Really badly. As in “silent room” badly. And no amount of punnery – even his “Anonymouse” pun – was going to help him climb out of the hole he dug himself.
Stuart Mitchell rounded out the show nicely: he’s got a really approachable presentation, though one joke felt like it was veering into gay-bashing homophobic territory. But he maintained a great form throughout, with good laughs from his other material.
In all, with the exception of Micah’s deadzone in the middle of the show, this was a pretty reasonable way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon… some decent laughs, and I think I managed to sweat out a kilo of weight in the Red Room sauna. Comedy and weight loss – what’s not to love?
(120) Afternoon Fringe Showcase: decent laughs in a packed hot-box. #ff2013 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) March 10, 2013