Donald Trump, Facebook leaks, North Korea – Stephen K Amos would like to help you forget it all, at least for an hour. His new stand-up show, Bread and Circuses, aims to turn Melbourne’s Athenaeum into a shelter from the chaos of the world at large.
“People just want a laugh, and I accept that,” says Amos. “What I don’t want to do is to stand on stage and do jokes about Brexit and Syria that people are sick to death of.”
In his 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival appearance, Amos took Australia to task for failing to legalise same-sex marriage, despite the fact that even “marginally more racist” South Africa had managed to do so. However, Amos chooses not to use topicality as a crutch.
“If I’m just standing onstage, spouting my personal political beliefs, all I’m doing is attracting an audience who agree with me,” he says. “You stop getting laughs and you start getting rounds of applause because you’re just saying things the audience agrees with. What’s harder to do is getting an audience onside who don’t share your beliefs.”
Travel is another way Amos has found to have fun without courting complacency. He recently travelled from a gig in Hong Kong to do some exploring in mainland China.
“If you spend your whole life hanging out with people who look the same as you and have the same political agenda as you, that’s a safe space to be,” he says. “Finding yourself in a position where you’re slightly more uncomfortable can be a learning experience.”
Amos, whose Wildean stage persona is unmistakable, believes that a unique voice is the biggest asset an aspiring comedian can have.
“In this day and age, anyone can put something on YouTube and build a following,” says Amos. “But if you make the transition to stand-up, you’ve got to take knocks and grow a thick skin. When you’re starting as a stand-up comedian, you’ll have loads of terrible gigs, but that’s part of learning.”
Amos has had his share of bumpy evenings. He recalls chatting with an audience member who, in a miscalculated attempt to get laughs, went on to compare Amos to a golliwog.
“I could have gotten offended and put him down in a really harsh way, but I made a decision not to,” says Amos. “If there’s someone in the audience who says something outrageous, I’ll take what they’ve said and try to weave it into a joke that lets us all laugh together.
“If you want to come have a laugh without necessarily expecting any deep meaning and pathos, then come to the gig,” says Amos. “If I stir the pot along the way, that’s just a bonus.”
