As expected on the Tuesday after Easter weekend, Tommy Little and the sell-out crowd seemed fairly relaxed as he took to the stage – warming up by heckling some patrons as they arrived late, attempting to guess their occupation based on their look and usually failing miserably.
This was all part of the show, of course. The comedian – known mostly for his gigs on The Project and breakfast radio – talked about the many jobs he’s held and been fired from, which happens to be all of them actually.
Most of the show revolves around this topic of losing jobs, the last of which resulted in an impulsive trip to Bali for a yoga retreat where he was expecting to find his inner being with the help of a spiritual guru. Instead, Little was greeted by an old dude called Greg and 25 other sweaty Australians who had the same idea.
Tommy Little treads that fine line between charming and smug, but saves falling into the latter with his lovable loser shtick. He plays the sympathy card well as he confesses his misfortunes with work and dating, his strange living habits as a single guy, an inability to cook or even stomach some desirable foods (like oysters, which he compares to eating an arsehole) and the fact he says ‘expresso’ instead of ‘espresso’ when referring to the martini.
There are also a few jokes designed to split the socio-economic classes within the audience, which Little explains as, “Those that know Lululemon is an expensive athletic clothing label, and those who think it’s an exotic fruit”.
As the title of the show perfectly sums up, Little really is a genuine Aussie dickhead, in the nicest sense of the word. He’s relatable and knows how to spin a good yarn, which he also admits is one of his biggest flaws – the fact he does a lot of things simply because it makes a good story. The best examples of this is the explanation of his driver’s licence photo, which he says became a challenge to “up the ante” on himself each time – and the latest of which he unveils spectacularly at the end of the show.
BY CHRIS BRIGHT
