‘RONNY’ looms behind him in gargantuan red letters. He repeatedly informs the crowd that he “went to an elite, top five law school”. He’s sold out The Hi-Fi – on a Wednesday. Ronny Chieng is hilariously confident and cocky, with every right to be. Best Newcomer in 2012, Chieng has developed into a blue-chip performer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In terms of his ability to induce laughter, Chiengis, much like his law school, elite. With his sardonic, matter-of-fact delivery, Chieng dissects topics from sexism in Kanye West to customer service at Apple stores. His rant on male guilt is brilliantly acute and indicative of his extraordinary intelligence.
Therein lies a minor issue I have with Chieng Reaction: I do feel like he’s holding back superb social commentary to make way for the more trivial tirades that made him successful. I don’t blame him, and this isn’t a criticism – quite the opposite – it’s a statement on Chieng’s limitless potential as a comedian. It is also seemingly very selfish of me – who am I to tell a comedian what he should talk about? – but I believe this is the next level for Chieng: he can easily make an audience laugh, but he’s also capable of stimulating an audience intellectually. It’s a challenge only the best can really consider.
BY NICK TARAS
