Nick Sun is a master of nihilistic comedy. With his bleak sense of humour and material revolving around death and degradation, Nick’s humour isn’t for everybody, but for the discerning comedy punter there’s some gold here.
Encompassing all the belligerence of Daniel Kitson, but without a mitigating sense of whimsy (I’m not sure that Larry the Rapist counts), Nick is a comedian who seems content with creating an atmosphere of discomfort for his audience. There’s some one liners and throw-away joke stories, but mainly the laughs require some thinking and a readiness to subscribe to Nick’s somewhat pessimistic world view.
The bulk of Nick’s show consists of relaying the experiences of a trip through India and Tibet and questioning a great deal of western lifestyle in the process. There’s a great deal of thoughtful and funny material on consumerism, relative moralities and motivation.
Nick seems to be his own worst heckler on stage – he knows that some of what he’s doing on stage is completely self-destructive, but he seems to view the relationship between comic and audience as a struggle to be enjoyed rather than a passive experience where he can just recite his material.
Seeing a Nick Sun show is an awkward and unusual experience, but ultimately a rewarding one. While the belly laughs are few and far between, there’s a lot to be said for having to think for your laughs.
Sacrificial Clown runs Tuesday through Sunday until April 29th. See the comedy festival website for bookings and further details.