Stephen K Amos is bringing a new show to MICF called The Best Medicine
Stephen K Amos is bringing a new show to MICF called The Best Medicine. Because, you know, laughter being supposed to be that, and because it’s kind of great that someone who spends a lot of time skewering stereotypes is kind of gently appropriating a cliché.
He’s keeping it socially responsible, though: “If you’re slipping into a hypoglycemic coma then insulin is the best medicine,” he admits, “but if you want to come and laugh solidly for an hour then come and see my show.” Noted? Good. He does court a little ambiguity, though, in that the show title preceded by his name, as it appears nearly everywhere, does seem to suggest that it may in fact be Stephen K Amos who is the best medicine. “Well,” he admits, “I have been known to be taken three times a day.” And here I thought he was usually applied topically.
Amos is usually not shy of defining himself, having consistently and openly talked about his perceptions as a black man and a gay man, and about perceptions of him as such. He has a joke about an old lady clutching her handbag tightly to her side at the sight of him that employs a heavy dose of indignation at the thought that he’d steal something so ugly, making it a sort of wry double negative where it ends up being okay because he’s so well-adjusted. It’s a deft deployment of stereotypes about both the minorities he to some extent represents on stage done with a warmth that makes it very accessible. “As long as we are lucky enough to live in a society with freedom of speech and expression,” Amos says, “it’s entirely up to the individual comic as to what he or she talks about. I didn’t set out to be a role model but purely to tell jokes from my perspective.” It just happens to help that that perspective is satirical yet humane.
Often described as ‘warm’ and ‘heartwarming’ and other things that imply that everyone wants to give him a hug, he’s the kind of person who can make penis jokes but your mum still thinks is lovely. A case in point: when asked about a review saying that “his statue [sic] and profile has risen greatly since the early days,” and where this statue might be, his response is that “If indeed someone has made an effigy of me, please take a picture and send it to me. The only thing that I know that I have that keeps growing is not in the public domain.” My mum, at least, loved that.
Stephen K Amos performs The Best Medicine at Melbourne Town Hall’s Main Hall from March 30 – April 24. It’s at 7.30pm Tuesday – Sunday except on April 24 when it’s at 5pm. Tickets are $35 – $42 and available through Ticketmaster online, 1300 660 013 and on the door.
