Can I Briefly Talk To You About The Point of Life? – Mark Watson
On Easter Sunday evening Mark Watson started his show from the audience. While the crowd filed in he slotted himself inconspicuously in an aisle seat in row J, sipped his water and listened to the conversations around him. By the time the punters were seated he was on his feet and ready to begin the show – right there in the middle of the audience. Watson spent a good ten minutes warming up the crowd from this spot, allaying their fears about audience participation and promising them some decent laughs throughout the night – which he easily delivered.
Watson has an endearing goofiness and charming stage presence. The topics he covers aren’t groundbreaking: horror films, advertising, airport security, interesting meetings on public transport but he does offer a refreshing twist with just enough bitter edge and a genuine exuberance that ensures the crowd are on his side. Watson is only 28 years-old but he is a real pro when it comes to stand-up, he has plenty of material up his sleeve and never misses a beat even when disarmed by the presence of a blind Italian Egyptian Muslim comedian and her guide dog sitting on the floor. Instead Watson ensured she and the dog were seated in the front row and did the odd shout-out to them during the gig.
My only niggle with the show was the way Watson kept critiquing the show itself, telling punters that this was definitely the quietest audience of the four shows he had done during this Melbourne season and ranking it around 511 out of his 900-odd shows. This left the audience with the feeling that they had perhaps picked the wrong night to attend and that they were missing out on the best possible experience.
The theme of the show is rather loose and Watson ties up the show with a simple message and encourages people to make the most of what life serves them up. Watson has lots of projects on the go: his Earth Summit show, the legendary 24-hour gig, a BBC radio series and two novels under his belt. So I suggest you try and catch his stand-up show before he gets sidetracked saving the world.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details