Auto marks Charlie Pickering bringing a new level of craft to his work as a comedian. The most obvious departure for Charlie from usual is that he spends the bulk of this show sitting down. For someone with such natural energy this is a bold move. Charlie doesn’t just pull it off, he finds something new in himself elevating this performance to a heightened level of artfulness. In some ways this show sees Charlie outside of his comfort zone. Both Charlie and the audience profit from this move.
Charlie’s show is all about writing an autobiography. The notion of writing a show that is self referential and retrospective is not unique, but the way Charlie approaches this task is his own. The show mainly focuses on one year of Charlie’s life, 1990, which was a momentous year for him, and it touches on Charlie’s emergence into comedy. Charlie also relates a heart warming portrait of his pet dog and describes his experiences when he changed schools and started at Brighton Grammar, with his portrayal of his teachers, in particular the School Principal, being a standout aspect of the show.
Charlie moves beyond stand up in this show with the level of performance often projecting into the realms of acting. This is where the crafted aspect of Charlie’s show comes into its own. Although involving a lot of different elements in this show, all of which worked in their own way Charlie is at his best when he does what he does so well. Charlie is just really good at communicating directly with his audience.
This is not the best show we will see from Charlie Pickering. Rather this is a performance that gives us a glimpse into the awesome future of this comedian. This show is delightfully funny and beautifully endearing, but this is not Charlie at his best, the best is yet to come. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Charlie and in the meantime, I get to adore what he’s doing now.
See this show and you’ll be really glad that there’s one less lawyer in the world.
For booking details go to Charlie Pickering – Auto