Chris Radburn: The Warm-Up Guy
Note: This review is from 2007
The clue might come when he explains that a warm-up guy’s brief is not to be too funny as that would risk upstaging the real star. And Radburn is never in danger of that, simply trotting though a largely familiar comedy landscape.
Every so often he’ll get the audience to practice applause, whooping or hand-waving, which appears suspiciously like an attempt to shore up the unremarkable material. But it’s doomed to failure when, as on this night, there are just six people in the audience – seven if you count the drunk who wandered in for five minutes and tried to steal the limelight.
Radburn remains unfazed with the tiny turnout, and ploughs through his instantly forgettable material with confidence and good humour.
But no individual personality shines through as he ticks every box in the Stand-Up For Dummies handbook. Any comic who does gags about Baby On Board signs in this day and age deserves to have their artistic licence revoked.
Perhaps this is audition piece, a blatant showcase for any TV execs passing through the festival who may be have lucrative warm-up work to hand out. It certainly appears it’s a job he could do – but whether he’s a comic with enough to say that it’s worth an hour listening to him… well, that’s a different prospect altogether.
Reviewed by:Steve Bennett
Melbourne, April 2007
Review date: 1 Jan 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett