CV

Nick Sun: Fringe 2012
Live Review
Alternative Fringe @ The Hive

Darting between whimsy and pitch black humour, Nick Sun displays his mastery of comedic form while completely disregarding it. This isn't unorthodox, zany, or the other miasma of words to dress up the unknown: this just is. It's definitely not for everyone, and might not even be for anyone.

Sun opens with a playful bash of his current basement venue,  espousing hatred of Free Fringe trolls determined not to have a good time.

Usually when the front row is empty a comedian will joke about it, instead Sun opts for tossing the vacant chairs away in order to be closer to his audience. It's hard to say which is funnier, the gesture or the look of terror on the new front-row faces.

This daunting attitude is evident in some places and absent in others, as Sun is a comic of no fixed address or stage persona. He toys with conventions, sampling the intellectual pseudo-rants of Daniel Kitson one minute and launching into a slam poem the next. This isn't a performance it's a playground, and even ‘chaotic’ doesn't do it justice. It's challenging and completely unlike anything else around.

There's a clear sense of resentment at the very concept of stand-up comedy and convention from the get-go. Comfort is boring, set lists are lazy, consistency is unoriginal. Unlike the Nick Sun of past years he now stops short of total self-sabotage, reigning in his trademark surrealism and including more first-rate jokes.

The show's title implies toiler humour, and while it's definitely present this is one set that can't be pigeonholed. There's jokes on social faux pas, lost youth, Disney films, race, culture, one-night stands, and comedy itself. But these are mere titles which misleadingly imply a certain level of separation, and neglect the wild tangents bumps along the way.

Despite the amorphous nature, the set still houses some world-class bits: with an existential crisis stemming from trying to see what it's like to be an audience member, a parody of nationalist immigration logic with animals at the zoo, and an attempt to do conventional observational comedy warping into the most surreal bit of the entire show, being but some of the highlights.

For the uninitiated, this show is a leap of faith. For the initiated, this show is an older more reflective (but still ultimately crazy) Nick Sun. For both, this is a bittersweet mix of enjoyment, uncontrollable laughter, awkwardness, and bewilderment.

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3

Nick Sun is the best thing I saw at Edinburgh this year (2011). The gig started with the terrifyingly defiant ejection of a heckling thug who just wouldn't shut up at the start. After threatening to cancel the gig, then cheering himself on and booing himself alternately from the front row, Nick clambered onto chairs in the front of the audience, singing "Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?" through hallucination-strength analogue delay FX, till said thug eventually departed - someone video'd this, it was a moment of genius and I do hope it makes it to YouTube. I don't want to talk about the rest of the show in specifics as I don't want to give spoilers, but from I saw, Nick Sun is fearless in his depiction of light and shade, reason and nonsense, audience expectations and what comedy is meant to be. I was laughing so much I was hurting and I'm still experiencing intense inspiration days later. Not seen or heard anything as strong as this since a certain W. M Hicks. Well, someone has to say it…

ohcheers.com, August 2011

This man is completely surreal and shocking, the whole time I was watching him I was petrified. His set is genius and hilarious and his audience interaction is fantastic. This is the best act I have ever seen because Nick Sun breaks many of the boundaries of comedy, he's the Sex Pistols of comedy.

Danny, July 2011

Akin to watching somebody recite Ted Bundy fan-fiction - whilst crying and masturbating. It's a stretch to even call what this guy does 'comedy So, highly recommended. Obviously.

Dave Tearoc, January 2007

Different from the rest. Nick Sun is a hell of a improvised comedian and really shined last night in Adelaide.

Stu, March 2006

Best comedian ever

Dylan To the Max, March 2006

This guy is OK. In truth I and others found it hard to understand him. I saw him on a raw night at Rawhide in Liverpool. I can only assume from the good reviews he has had he was trying out some new material

Neill, January 2006

At times Nick seems a little introverted to deliver his material with the optimum conviction. It is only when he steps into his alter-ego "Clownbot" that his talent really shines. His soliloquy as a Calculator is a must see

Marwell, November 2005

Nick has an extremely good set, with absolutely loads of quality material, which he sells extremely well. More than aware of his shortcomings (which are few) and is working on them, which is an excellent sign. Spoke of "jumping ship" when things got a bit quiet, he shouldn't. Bags of good material, delivered just right.

Dave Longley, November 2005

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3