You know that you’re in the presence of an outstanding comedian when moments from the punch line you’re already hunched over in fits of laughter.
You know that you’re in the presence of an outstanding comedian when moments from the punch line you’re already hunched over in fits of laughter. Rod Quantock has been a comedian for over 40 years and it shows; not just physically, he insists. Quantock is so convincing as a storyteller and commentator that he summons the audience’s complete attention. The focus of his show, which he writes down on his flip chart, is “Are people stupid?” If people needed to come to his show to find the answer, he deadpans, the answer is “yes”. Obviously, most audience members knew exactly what they were getting themselves into as soon as they walked into Trades Hall’s Quilt Room for a Rod Quantock show: politics, the end of civilisation, and more politics.
Stories of his childhood and the humorous take on the significance of his birthday upon historical events, however, also proved utterly hilarious. For the bulk of the hour, Quantock informed and educated the audience as much as he amused us. Never mind the unreadable flip chart scribbling and rushed graph drawings, Quantock’s vehement speeches on climate change, population growth (and just for the record – no, I wasn’t offended by the Chinese joke), oil, water and mindless right-wing politicians were intoxicating enough via oral delivery.
Not for those with short attention spans or purveyors of small talk, Quantock is incredibly clever and delivers the kind of deep, wise-cracking humour that comes with experiential wisdom and a voraciously switched-on mind. If there’s anyone that you’d listen to intently about preparing for the end of the world, it would be Rod Quantock.
