[2013095] Michael Hing – Occupy White People
Michael Hing @ The Tuxedo Cat – Green Room
8:30pm, Tue 5 Mar 2013
Short-run comedy shows in the Fringe always intrigue me – I wind up imagining that there’s something ballsy about the comic that thinks “Yeah – I’ll give this Fringe thing a go. I’ll just do a couple of nights, should be fine.”
And that’s exactly what drew me to Michael Hing’s show. Well… that, and the fact that he plasters a positive quote from Jamie Kilstein (from the fantastic Citizen Radio) on his flyer; the Fringe Guide blurb mentioning “racism, inequality, and dick jokes” sealed the deal.
The small crowd – less than a dozen – immediately made me wonder whether this was a worthwhile exercise for the Australian-Chinese Hing, especially given this was the last of his four shows. But he has an immediately friendly and approachable style, and he gently eases into some of his personal experiences with racism, culminating in a story about how an Asian ex-girlfriend dumped him for being too Asian.
Hing’s material tends to focus on personal anecdotes, with comedic analysis: tales from his working life pepper the set, as do recollections of schoolyard bullying. And that material is fine, especially given his innocent appearance and non-confrontational delivery; but when he veers into more risqué material – like the dick-in-the-popcorn cinema trick – it seems incongruous.
Maybe that’s a result of his obvious nervousness onstage; regardless, there was enough variety within the audience that there weren’t any dead patches throughout the show. Hing may not be a gut-busting comedian, nor is he a sharp satirist… but he did have a collection of amusing anecdotes that entertained me for an hour. But in the expanse of the Fringe, there’s many other comics I’d be recommending before Michael Hing’s name comes up.
(95) Michael Hing – Occupy White People: great jokes about racism that would kill with a strong narrative thread. #ff2013 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) March 5, 2013