Journeys of self discovery seem to be a hot topic in this year’s Comedy Festival. Rhys Mathewson’s Rhyspect was another show in which the performer documented a series of events that led to (or didn’t lead to) changes in their life. In this case, Rhys was attempting to gain some self respect executing a three point plan; lose weight, get a girlfriend / have sex and have adventures. These were scrawled onto a whiteboard and checked off when completed.
This was a show of many contradictions where what he told us was very much at odds with how he said it. As his tales continued you noticed these discrepancies, particularly his section about his trip to Edinburgh where he repeatedly insisted that he was yet to have an adventure in spite of many entertaining stories he told. Presumably the pessimism was a neat lead in to his conclusion but this could be telegraphed ahead of the reveal.
This show highlighted Rhys’ brilliant ability at storytelling. There were a several set pieces which combined with his animated enthusiasm were enthralling and hilarious.
His arrogant and cocky delivery fitted in rather well with the attitude of the show, even though he felt the need to constantly remind us that he was being ironic and that deep inside he was a shy and gentle soul. He compounded this shtick with plenty of self critiques about how the material was going over, bagging other comics and providing responses to his rhetorical questions. It helped to reinforce our view of him as a young upstart, but he often pushed this a little far with the frequency of these devices and his nastiness towards his targets.
He also included a little bit of slapstick so that he could make himself the fool, all the while maintaining all of bravado. This was a nice touch that slightly softened his stage persona and created just enough empathy to keep us on side. He contrasted this with indignate rants about the world and people who had screwed him over.
Exactly like a number of other shows I have seen this festival, Rhys concluded the show with a “what I learnt about myself” spiel but unlike others, he actually had a strong comedic tag. At last someone who can have us leaving the venue laughing!
Rhyspect was a solid show that kept the punters in hysterics throughout and demonstrated that this young comic certainly benefited from his time in the Class Comedians program a few years ago and has since developed into a skillful stand up.
Visit the NZ Comedy Festival Website for booking details.