Carl Barron – Drinking With a Fork
Eventim Apollo Hammersmith
Reviewed – 3rd March 2018
★★
“jokes were stagnated, and little thought seemed to have been put into their order or sequence”
‘Drinking With a Fork’ is the latest show from Australia’s beloved Carl Barron. The country’s adoration for him as one of their funniest comedians was clear from the excited chatter in line for the box office at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo. Carl himself admits in the first few minutes of the show that he has “no idea” what English crowds find funny, because he’s never needed to and Aussie accents flying around the room should have been a clue as to what the next 75 minutes would entail. Countless jokes made little sense to the audience members from other parts of the world as they relied on an Australian cultural awareness that many of us simply don’t have. However, with an almost exclusively Australian audience in the palm of his hands, I suppose he must be doing something right.
His observational comedy initially had moments of great insight, but before long every other punchline seemed filthily distasteful. As funny as toilet humour can be, after four or five goes at it even the Australian’s in the audience seemed to be willing him to move on. His jokes were stagnated, and little thought seemed to have been put into their order or sequence. He jumped between topics with no warning and his concluding song was anticlimactic and predictable. The saving grace, however, was an ingenious routine about the absurdity of phrases thrown around by every parent in the world. Relatable, illuminating and perfectly timed, it was this sequence that salvaged Barron’s evening.
In short, Barron’s performance was not without its wit; but his dodgy English accent, obsession with toilet humour and refusal to explain most of the Australian references left me feeling rather disappointed. If this is the best Australian observational comedy has to offer, I think I’ll stick to watching ‘Live at the Apollo’ on BBC2 from the comfort of my own living room.
Reviewed by Sydney Austin
Carl Barron – Drinking With a Fork
Eventim Apollo Hammersmith
