Akmal Salah’s sell-out show at the Athenaeum was a very solid hour of old-school stand-up. It followed a short opening guest spot held by the very likeable Joel Ozborn who warmed up the room with a lot of affable crowd work that was very funny if somewhat safe. He introduced Akmal to rapturous applause and the comedian immediately had the audience on-side, laughing at practically everything he said.
The structure of the show was very loose, ostensibly it was about how he had been asked to write an autobiography and so naturally he recalled some of his life stories: from his strict Christian upbringing in Egypt where he wrestled with his guilt over masturbation; to moving to Sydney at a young age and being unable to speak English in a class called ‘Special students’. The entire saga culminates in a story about how he was recently ‘given the bash’ by a woman in Rockhampton for reasons that are simply too absurd to risk spoiling for you.
Akmal’s breezy personality keeps things light and the show flowing smoothly. A significant segment of his act was also crowd work (I felt like I knew the names of the whole front row by the end of the evening), but he managed to segue his interactions neatly into the next of each of his own stories.
The only criticism I can make of the show is that it really is like a lot of the other big ticket items on the comedy fest schedule. If you want to spend your comedy dollar on some of the more original acts on offer, look elsewhere. However if you want to laugh for a solid hour, then it’s a no-brainer to recommend this show, it’s simply a lot of fun.
Akmal – It’s Not My Fault runs until April 18 at the Athenaeum. For full booking details go to the Melbourne Comedy Festival website