Stephen K Amos

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Among the fresher material is an anecdote about his phobia of water; how he hates the idea of swimming in the sea as there’s no safety rail to hang on to. The analogy with his comedy is obvious.

Perhaps he needs a reliable prop; as for all his experience, and exemplary crowd work – warm and enthusiastic as he gently ribs those in his sights – he can occasionally misstep, as evidenced tonight with some off-colour gags about Rolf Harris that the audience bristled against. That’s clearly not what they’ve come to expect from the effusively charming Amos.

But largely he delivers exactly what they want, as he very loosely explores the theme of this show: that he’s no fit person to be a spokesman for any cause, or a role model for anyone. The content encompasses the faceless mouthpieces who make corporate apologies for cock-ups like the horsemeat-in-lasganes fiasco; some fairly obvious gags about Jesus, ‘the original spokesman for God’ (well, if we ignore the Old Testament) and then on to his own failings.

The thought process was sparked when Amos reluctantly found himself being asked to comment on all sorts of gay issues, since coming out in his 2006 Edinburgh show. It’s not a subject he ever particularly dwells on, but as in all his anecdotes he reveals enough about himself to draw out the funny - no more or no less. Even his age remains a mystery when he claims to be 37, but no one believes him.

Indeed there are some very witty anecdotes here, especially his run-in with a stern woman in an off-licence (he can’t bring himself to say the Australian equivalent ‘bottle shop’ without mocking it) – and, as always, his warm, gregarious manner elevates even the most everyday of routines, let alone the good ones. The phobias seam encourages the audience interaction with which he excels, as he addresses such weird fears as ‘eggshells’.

It’s an hour (well, more like 80 minutes) of charismatic bonhomie and affectionate mockery, with some great routines, but also a fair bit of padding. If it’s not advancing the artform of comedy, well Amos was never a spokesman for that, but neither is it a constant peak of straightforward stand-up of which there’s the ever-present hope he is capable of producing. But ‘solid stuff, with moments of hilarity,’ a spokesman for Chortle said.