Review: Oliver Coleman - Poolside

The different 'bits' in Oliver Coleman's show are wildly disparate and run the risk of coming off as completely disconnected. For the most part it works, if in a ‘...And now for something completely different!’ kind of way.

Coleman is a competent and high-octane performer, but his comedic reference points skew towards the obscure. This means his jokes can fall flat if the audience is not knowledgeable about such diverse topics as art history, 80s comedians and the mannerisms of beloved ABC television personalities.

His delivery of stand-up in the character of an Andrew Dice Clay-like comedian is well-executed, but it becomes very specific, relying on everyone's acute familiarity with comedians like Andrew Dice Clay.

That being said, once Coleman gets off the 80s shock comic, his comedy can reach towards Sam Simmons levels of absurdism. Some of the audience interactions in these moments aspire to greatness, and redeem a show which might otherwise have been an hour of bewildering in-jokes.

 

Run ended