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 Brisbane Powerhouse - Wed Dec 2
In the second of many nights in the Powerhouse Theatre, Bay Area comedian Arj Barker sells out his latest live offering: Original Style Bits ‘n’ Pieces, after an enormous run of dates spanning back to the Melbourne Fringe Festival in September. From back-stage he introduces his ‘best buddy’ and tour manager, Australian comedian Joel Ozborn, who offers an entertaining warm-up set aimed fairly and squarely at the jet-setting Aussie bogan. With a natural sense for physical comedy, Ozborn infuses each story with an amusing movement or expression, culminating in a Tom Cruise impersonation, complete with Ray Ban sunnies and manic glee.
The lights go down as Barker appears in a grainy home-made video projection dressed as a two-bit Guru, and runs through some amusing breathing exercises to reduce our pre-comedy tension. After rapping hip hop-style onto the stage, he launches into a tirade about marijuana criminality, using the example of mega-Olympian Michael Phelps’ recent digression to challenge the stern warnings of parents everywhere, while pointing out the irony of being dropped by a munchie manufacturing sponsor.
More than set-ups and punch lines, Barker’s act indulges split personalities in a hilarious mess of misunderstandings, exaggerations and stoner logic. Ingeniously, he deconstructs parts of his own performance on the fly, while weaving an elaborate tapestry of loosely linked tangents. Reaching for an acoustic guitar, he apologises to music before playing a song titled You Said, then exits, as his Guru guide appears again to ensure us that it is ok to buy one of the DVDs on sale at the front.
JAMES STAFFORD
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