Stephen K Amos is all class and shoulders the weight of being an MICF headliner with effortless professional ease. Having toured Australia extensively over the last several years he has picked up plenty to laugh about in Australia and tailors his jokes accordingly. From the great banana price hike of 2006 to our current ‘Putin-esque’ leadership, Amos knows his Aussie references. This attention to detail pays dividends when he is ‘gifted by the comedy gods’ a mullet wearing Frankston resident in the front row.
Amos is a mainstay of the UK comedy scene, so his crowd control and heckle banter is expected to be top notch. On this night, the standard was high and he was always left with the last laugh. Personally I would have liked to have seen him tested a little more as he was never really stretched to fish into his bag of witticisms for a throwback sting.
While it could be possible to pigeonhole Amos as a black/british/gay/older comedian – he doesn’t fit any of these categories. Uniquely, he presents themes of diversity, death, religion and other topics normally swept under the carpet. This is actually somewhat confronting when you’re after a switch-the-brain-off kind of night but when it’s delivered with such charm, it’s hard to find disagreeable. Plus, Amos drops enough f-bombs, sex jokes and impersonations of Adelaidians to keep everyone laughing merrily.
Amos has a big and well-deserved following in Australia who drink in heartily his likable merry persona and witty observations. He’s unlikely to offend, unlikely to die on stage and unlikely to leave you giggle-less. See him on a date, have a ladies night with your netball team or go by yourself if you’ve got pasty skin and no friends. Stephen K Amos is the real deal and delivers the goods.
BY JUSTIN WATTS
