Review: Andrew Silverwood at The Pleasure Garden
Andrew Silverwood: I Really, Really, Really want a Zig-A-Zig Ah .. And a Nap at The Pocket @ The Pleasure Garden
Tuesday, 24 January, 2023
5/10
At Fringe, you take a chance on things. That’s the Fringe spirit. You roll the dice, you go to a random show and you never know what you will get. Particularly if it’s late on a Tuesday night, The Pleasure Garden has more security than punters and you really should be on your way home to get at least six hours’ kip before office duties tomorrow.
And tonight’s roll of the dice produced comedian Andrew Silverwood and his show I Really, Really, Really want a Zig-A-Zig Ah .. And a Nap. Now why the show was named after that glorious Spice Girls lyric, I haven’t a clue. There was no mention of the song or anything Spice Girl-y in the show. Nor does the lyric particularly represent the comedian or the show’s content in some overarching thematic concern. Likewise I am also no closer to knowing why the show’s title suggests Silverwood would like a nap. Surely we all would. But why is it in the title of the show?
Uniquely enough, Silverwood’s solo show started with another comedian doing a short five at the beginning. And the good news is that Jake Stanton, a self-identifying middle-aged local with an eshay streak was pretty good. Stanton found humour in himself and a scenarios those of us who catch trains can relate to and was well-received by the audience.
Then it was Andrew Silverwood’s time to shine. A British-cum-Australian citizen with an accent part James Acaster, part Russell Brand, Silverwood embraced the more brash style of the latter in his stand-up act. But where Brand got away with his shtick thanks to a tremendously quick wit and self-awareness of his own aggrandizement, almost begging at times for self-flagellation, Silverwood was neither.
Silverwood’s set consisted of a slew of tired gags that ranged from blaming your partner for farting to moustaches being indicators of a kiddie fiddler. He talked about his bright yellow MG Midget so he can use the car as a tax write off. That’d be a good one-off joke, so you can imagine the audience’s bewilderment when the piece went on for five minutes.
Admitting he hated crowd work, Silverwood then participated in a poor excuse for one, by talking to a couple in the front row and getting thrown off by their seemingly normal answers. Perhaps if you’re not good at something, maybe don’t do it on stage.
Silverwood’s brash and offensive persona could really do with a greater hint of self-awareness that promotes a greater connetion with the the audience. Audiences laugh when nurtured, not when dragged along without care and I can’t help but imagine that this will come with experience. Comedy is a hard job. It takes a phenomenal amount of guts and hard work to get on stage. You only get better by doing and Silverwood is out there doing and so I would definitely see roll the dice on him again as only way for Silverwood from here is Zig-A-Zig Up!
MICHAEL HOLLICK