For a comedian, there’s nothing more daunting than improvisation, however, it just so happens that it’s the most entertaining type of comedy out there – by far. Utterly deserving of the five-star rating, trust me when I say you need to see this show.
On Sunday night, Roxanne was home to Set List, a showcase like no other that I’d ever seen. Basically, each performer is given a random ‘list’ of topics by the comedy gods, shown to them one by one while they are on stage and no, they cannot skip a slide. Tackling the intimidating feet on Sunday was Sami Shah, Kevin Kropinyeri & Andy Saunders, Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, Zoe Coombs Marr and Lindsay Webb.
Introducing the brave bunch was host and fellow comedian, Gordon Southern. Making us all feel welcome, the British comic has a naturally relatable rhythm about him. Cracking out some jokes to kick the night off, he immediately interacted with the audience and was warmly welcomed. Encouraging us to get excited and give the acts all we’ve got, it wasn’t long until he introduced the first one on the docket.
Sami Shah oozed confidence as he graced the stage. As expected, when his first topic of ‘Chlamydia Lullaby’ appeared, it took a second for him to collect his thoughts. However, it wasn’t long until his set was flowing seamlessly – a sign of true comedic talent. Telling us a tale about protecting his daughter through bedtime sing-alongs, he soon had to work with the subject of ‘Drool Pride’. Without hesitation, Sami continued to smash out each challenge set for him, even a three-person skit portraying ‘Bringing An Intervention Counsellor To A Knife Fight’. Leaving us with a rather raw image including his mum and his arse, it soon became apparent that Set List was where the most surreal humour has stemmed from.
Next up was dynamic duo, Kevin Kropinyeri and Andy Saunders. Warning us that they were aboriginal before beginning, the two entertainers bounced off one another as best they could. Although they stumbled through subjects including ‘Sesame Street Proverbs’, ‘Childhood Issues’ and ‘X-Ray Vision Tinder’, the pair was perfectly hilarious without any consistent content. Admitting that the Set List tasks were harder than imagined, the entire audience seemed to be blissfully unaware, as the two struggling on stage was automatically amusing in itself. Finding their feet eventually, Kevin and Andy played off the many stereotypes of the indigenous, divulging in some self-deprecation to more than successfully save their set.
Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall was up next. Starting with ‘Nipple Wrestling’, the sweet Canadian-Australian was not one to shy away from a fight. Instead, he shimmied his way into his set and had his crowd giggling in no time. After gifting us with his best dance moves, he very willingly linked back to his first topic. Using the power of the nipple, the young talent was more than comfortable showing us his best assets. Moving onto the role of a ‘Pushy Coffin Salesman’, Alasdair reminded us all that “only losers are cremated”. Taking us through the challenge of ‘Ovary Exercises’, he proved himself a rather diverse and forward thinking comic. Finishing up because he found himself getting too sexual; he definitely warmed up the entire room.
On an all-male line up, Zoe Coombs Marr made a point of joining the ‘sausage fest’ as the one and only, Dave. With his sideburns, boxers and beer in hand, Dave is one hell of a dude. Beginning with a ‘Glory Conference’, let’s just say Dave had no idea. Removing the subject matter from her set for a minute, the charming comic met individual members of her audience, displaying her truly relatable and rather hilarious nature. Relating to her fellow “fellas” in the room, Zoe’s commitment to her chosen character was unimaginable and insanely entertaining. Moving onto an ‘All Drunk Church’ and ‘All Crunk Church’ it seemed the comedy gods were sending her the hardest prompts they had in stock. Nevertheless, Zoe spoke about what she knows best – wine and what happens when there is no more wine. Spending the rest of her time on stage mumbling over breasts looking over ovaries, Dave’s presence was more than enough to have us all in a fit of laughter.
Lindsay Webb was last up for the night. A regular on Set List, he was surprised with the level of difficulty of his topics. Skipping over ‘Lobotomese’ and rushing over to ‘Circus Performer Relationship Conflicts’, Lindsay’s performance was a lovely blend of sexual innuendo and strange stories. Weaving continuous jokes throughout his set, his ability to have an audience continuously captivated is uncanny. Thriving with ‘Tent Commandments’, he moved straight through the “intents” joke and onto the teachings of his camping experience. Taking a moment to say hello to his handy projection helper in the front row, we soon learned the pair once knew each other as students, allowing the audience to feel absolutely at home. Leaving us with his analogy of B.I.S.C.U.I.T, Lindsay’s longstanding reputation on Set List remained completely intact.
By Phoebe Robertson
