My Contemptible Life in a Gutter of Abject DesolationBy Andrew Lawrence
Victoria Hotel - Vic's Bar, 215 Little Collins Street
April 2 - 26, Tuesday - Saturday 8.15pm, Sunday 7.15pm
$22.50 - $27.50
Rating: *** 1/2
Misanthropic Brit Andrew Lawrence was born for a career in stand up comedy. There are, after all, few other career options open when you're a bloodnut with "a face like a sex offender" (as Lawrence describes himself, and a voice like a frog on crack.
In addition to humiliating himself for the audience's pleasure, Lawrence gleefully tackles some very dark material, including testicular cancer, sexual deviancy and alcoholism.
His bleak outlook on life is delivered in a tirade of anecdotes and impersonations that spill from his mouth, leaving Lawrence barely enough room to draw breath before he launches into his next joke.
Despite his apparent loathing for the bulk of humanity - the band Coldplay in particular - Lawrence is an engaging and skilled comedian, albeit one whose performance style is in a staunchly traditional stand-up mode.
If you're looking for black comedy, he's your man.
This review first appeared in The Age on Wednesday April 8.
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