Review: Ty Gray’s ‘Those Who Can’t Do’ at The Stables

Ty Gray: Those Who Can’t Do at The Basement @ The Stables
Friday, January 20, 2023

9/10

Making his Perth debut, Ty Gray had the sold-out audience in tears of laughter for his Fringe stand-up show Those Who Can’t Do at The Stables. 

The show’s title comes from that notorious slight on teachers by George Bernard Shaw’s “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” which Gray cant help but mess with as both comedian and recent graduate teacher.

As he pursues both gigs, Gray recounts how he has come to plays a Jekyll & Hyde act so as to maintain a veneer of respectability in the classroom while trying to get his comedy gig afloat. All of which make for great comic material; from Gray being guilty of reverse-stalking on the socials to never knowing just how much his pupils know about his outside the classroom antics.

Gray’s internal dialogue and interactions with students are hilarious, and are helped into the comedy forum by Gray being happy to say what other teachers would only dare think in private. He is aware of this though, as he states at the top of the show, “teachers will (enjoy this show) as it makes them feel better about themselves!”

It’s not all about classrooms and playgrounds however, as Gray has ‘done’ more than teach. His material drawa on a variety of other jobs as well as a seemingly inexhaustible list of travel misadventures and over indulgences. These experiences make for highly amusing anecdotes, ans allow Gray to pontificate on topics such as the health benefits of magic mushroom shakes to the pros and and cons of kipping near one’s watering hole.

Most noticeable about Gray’s performance was his ability to find humour in the intimately personal details of his life. In kinship with two of his comedic influences, Matt Okine and Becky Lucas, Gray demonstrated a tremendous sense of bravery to disregard how unflattering a story may make his character, all so that he can share the things that, while most of us will also have done, are far too afraid to share out loud in public. This allows Gray to harness the humour that exists in the gritty details of the everyday. The things that we all may have done, but would be too afraid to share.

Not one to be missed, Gray is a young comedian with a bright future and can-do attitude.

MICHAEL HOLLICK