Review by Tatum Stafford
As Rhys affirms in the first five minutes, this show is what it says on the tin – Rhys, one of Australia’s funniest comedians, is here to try out new jokes (and cancel our requests for refunds, if any come through).
It’s always exciting to catch a work-in-progress show that will go on to form many more shows around the country, and the hour we caught on Saturday night is full of hilarious stories and tons of jokes that the audience absolutely loved.
Starting with a bang with a cooking anecdote or two, including one about squid guts, Rhys barrelled through plenty of new material with trademark wit and perfectly crafted punchlines that had the audience engaged for the full hour. Topics were incredibly varied, shifting from musings on parenthood, their recent marriage, and Christmas in WA’s south-west. I particularly enjoyed the calculations of how much it costs (and therefore, how much you could save) to raise a child in 18 years.
A fun addition to Rhys’ material for the night was an audience suggestion box, where he had audience members contribute words so Rhys could improvise jokes on the spot to see if anything sparked a humorous story. This was one of the funniest moments of the show on the night I saw it, as the two words Rhys drew were hilarious. I’ll just say that one was not safe for work, and the other was ‘Bunnings’. Rhys is clearly a master in this arena, and managed to riff for an impressive amount of time without losing any audience interest or hitting any walls in stories.
Rhys has a knack for making the audience feel at ease, and is a talented storyteller with tons of experience. This ensured the crowd were in safe hands, and created a really inviting and energetic atmosphere amongst the audience. It was clear everyone in the room was engaged and enjoying themselves as Rhys ran through his list and improvised material seamlessly.
If you get a chance to catch Rhys in the future, whether this in-progress show or at a bigger venue in Fringe’s off-season, don’t miss out – there’s a reason Rhys is one of the most recognisable names in Australian comedy right now, he is hilarious! Thoroughly enjoyed this show, and I’m sure I’m not the only one gauging by audience feedback this Fringe season.
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