Dave Thornton returns to the Melbourne Comedy Festival with his latest show, I Wanna Be Bruce Lee, and in it he tackles the biggest issue he thinks most thirty-somethings have to face; “What have I done with my life?”.
Being a comedian is the hardest job in the world, as the old saying goes. It’s a cliche, I know, but you have to admit there is always a grain of truth to these things. Making a child laugh is easy because they are kids, and they are idiots, but getting a group of complete strangers to jump on board, and hang on your every word must be a bit of a bitch. Imagine doing this every night? Quite frankly, I would rather be stuck under my parent’s bed while they are getting intimate, but hey, that’s just me!! One man who seems to be unfazed by this is Dave Thornton.
Dave Thornton returns to the Melbourne Comedy Festival with his latest show, I Wanna Be Bruce Lee, and in it he tackles the biggest issue he thinks most thirty-somethings have to face; “What have I done with my life?”. He admits that he has none of the things which society would expect you to have, and unlike Bruce Lee was at this age, he is not the most famous oriental actor in the world. Add to this, the fact that he lost two jobs in one day, and you can see why he is starting to stress about things.
It is immediately clear that Thornton is a local lad, and he enthusiastically riffs with members of tonight’s sell out crowd. As gigs go, the local ones are the most receptive, with the crowd immediately warming to his affable style. He confesses that his crisis relates back to the last night of his run in the Edinburgh Fringe, and the devastation he felt when he learned that he would be performing to a total of seven people. The crowd lap it all up, and even by the end of the show he is still getting the laughs, most of which, admittedly, are at his expense.
My only real criticism of the show is not so much an issue with the show, but an issue with the notion that all comedian’s have to have a theme, or message. Can you not just go on stage, tell some jokes, and regale us with some amusing stories? The theme of this show is a bit lazy, and I think Thornton is aware of this. He only really talks about Bruce Lee twice, so why mention him at all? Just go out and tell your jokes, mate. That’s what you’re best at.
