Kane is manic and comes from as many directions as possible, but like with a rare handful of comics, Kane is incredibly intelligent and to base a comedy show around Human Dressage, the brain, society and politics in the way he did was inspiring. It’s hard to fault a guy like Russell Kane and, on the circuit, I’m sure there are few people who are as wild and informed as he is. The start of the show was very much audience bait, clipping into one or two of the audience members and getting a good feel of the crowd.
The show is oddly informative in what human dressage is and how we as a society have adhered to certain conformities as well as the differences between men and women (which forms the greater part of the show). Many things where up for grabs in his show, from Supernanny & Australians to The Guardian & Americans, He seems very comfortable in what he does ad the topics he picked meaning at times the show got really scientific on a way that makes you scratch your head and wonder if you knew this knowledge before.
During his show he was offered a rare jem of a bit. Someone from the audience, Tara, got up to go to the toilet, but he thought she was going for a drink; when he told her the toilets were to the left of him. She turned round and the room erupted and he taunted her a little bit which was a classic touch. But, rather than get back on with his set, Kane started talking to her mate and the whole things spiraled in the best way possible.
One of the most unexpected aspects of his show was him talking about growing up. and his father, who, he said, never called him “Russell” always “boy”. It is nice to hear about his life, you get the sense that if This is Your Life was still on the television his would make an interesting episode. He doesn’t give a great deal away (a biog in the works perhaps) but you find out about when he went to live with his grandmother, the fight with his father, and his leftist views only because he knows it pissed his dad off. Once you know this you get a small sense of vulnerability and pain that is still there.
The show was a sell-out, people every which way and his bit on The Guardian (…cover me in hummus I want to be pecked to death by a free range pigeon…) and his intelligence (degree in English) comes across well as smart but not arrogant. His snipes at the audience were well received and timed and he had a good story format, with few ‘jokes’ that again just made the show even more fun and overrun ‘you selfish bastards’.
‘Go and see this man…hard to explain but he’s fu**ing brilliant ****Four Stars
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