[2015158] Ro Campbell: Road Warrior
Ro Campbell @ Producers Nook
9:45pm, Fri 13 Mar 2015
I’ve been a big fan of Ro Campbell since I first saw him – and that fandom didn’t diminish between his 2010 and 2014 shows. But had anything changed with Ro since last year?
Thankfully, no. He’s still a filthy-mouthed storyteller who has the uncanny knack of knowing just where to insert that one, perfectly uttered profanity into an otherwise mellifluous sentence that turns it into the rudest thing ever. His “mining for clitoris” joke is still hilarious, as are his tales of gigs in correctional facilities and ore mining camps… and his description of a gig at the Useless Loop salt mine left me speechless.
But it was the tail end of his season here, and I get the feeling that Ro was kinda happy that it was coming to a close. He was constantly calling into question his commitment to the Adelaide Fringe, dropping snide little remarks: “The other ten months of the year, I actually make money!” he exclaimed, but I suspect that was more to remind himself than to convince us.
There was a genuine feeling of burnout in Ro’s performance… but he still made it work, comedy-wise. I’m not sure how his mental health was going, but I suspect that nearly melting down in front of a small audience didn’t really help. I still love his work to death, but Ro… look after yourself, man.
(158) Ro Campbell- Road Warrior: Brilliant exhibition of mental self-destruction by a masterfully dark filth merchant. #ff2015 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) March 13, 2015