By Elyce Phillips
Going into this show, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t seen Adam Knox perform before, and his Festival Guide entry keeps it short and sweet. All I knew was that Knox’s show has the best title I have seen in a long time. People Crying “Adam Knox” As They Leap From Planes is all about Knox’s desire to be remembered. Over the course of the show Knox explores different ways to continue in the public memory after death and takes a good hard look at why anyone would want to be remembered anyway.
Knox’s choice of theme is clever. Discussing ways to be remembered allows to him to touch upon a wide range of topics – religion, politics, TV – while still maintaining a cohesive show. Thematically, there’s nothing revolutionary here, but the jokes feel fresh and original. Knox’s observational humour is witty and relatable, even when the observing is limited to the eccentricities of his tiny apartment. In fact, the more specific to his life the material, the stronger it was – a bracket about a truly disgusting share house played wonderfully. The show is well-honed and consistently funny. Knox is aware of the jokes that don’t land so strongly and has devised interesting ways to perk them up. A particularly lame joke that he hypes up as being ‘the greatest joke ever’ is actually one of the highlights of the performance.
Knox is an engaging performer. He’s confident in his delivery and appears completely at ease in front of the audience, aside from the occasional referral to his pocket notebook. Personally, I didn’t find these moments too distracting but he did start to lose the crowd when he flipped through for that second too long. However, when Knox in his groove, he’s the sort of performer that makes it look all too easy and, for the most part, this is the performer we got to see.
People Crying “Adam Knox” As They Leap From Planes is a strong show from an up-and-coming comedian. If Knox continues at this pace, he is sure to be remembered.
People Crying “Adam Knox” As They Leap From Planes is on at The Provincial Hotel until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/people-crying-adam-knox-as-they-leap-from-planes-adam-knox