• theatre
  • features
  • glimpses
  • faqs
  • contact
  • theatre
  • features
  • glimpses
  • faqs
  • contact
  Art Murmurs - Wellington Reviews

Reviews

Joseph Moore - So...I’m a Dad

8/5/2016

7 Comments

 

Dell Mitchell & Laura Ferguson

Picture
Hosted at BATS on a stage littered with baby toys, the scene is set as Joseph Moore walks out on stage with a dirty diaper. We quickly realise that this is a theatre/comedy mash-up rather than a straight stand up act.

He delivers his set with energy and enthusiasm but unfortunately needs to refer to his notes a couple of times which breaks the flow. Throughout the set, it is his accidental comedy and improvisation that got some of the biggest laughs.

Highlights were his calling out of the hipster/millennial bullshit, and some very well crafted analogies and call-backs. There was a consistent narrative that was easy to follow and the journey he took the audience on was unique, setting himself as a rogue Dad on a mission. He is clearly skilled at thinking on his feet and it would have been great to see more of this talent. The use of stage lighting and spotlights served to heighten the show and this aspect was well executed.

Lowlights were that, at times, the story was inconsistent and this brought both of us out of the theatre element of the show.  Alongside this were instances of cultural and social misappropriation that didn’t add anything to the show and at times made both of us feel uncomfortable. For example; why does a successful judge need to be a “spinster”? Dropping that one word would have made it more engaging and more consistent with his argument.

It ended up feeling like a one hour set up for a surprising and very funny joke. It is a show with potential, once all the logical inconsistencies are straightened out and it is a bit more polished.

If you know and enjoyed Moore’s previous works, such as last years 1989, then you may find this show to be more entertaining than we did; so go and see it for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

For more details and tickets go here: http://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/find-a-show/josephmoore/

​
7 Comments
Maria
7/5/2016 12:14:08 pm

I feel uncomfortable with a review that calls out social and cultural misappropriation but doesn't actually say what it was (although there was the spinster example), as I saw this show and am unsure what you're talking about?
My initial reaction was "they should go to Brendan Lovegrove's show", so I'm quite amused (having seen both) that this show was called out on Art Murmurs where Lovegrove was not!!

Reply
Dell & Laura
7/5/2016 05:27:44 pm

Thanks for this comment, this is the sort of feedback we really appreciate at Art Murmurs.
The reason it was different with Moore as opposed to Lovegrove is that Lovegrove's comedy is often about mocking society for being too PC, yes at times he comes across as sexist but it is his character - therefore it is part of getting us to take a look at ourselves, it's not subtle or hidden.
Moore had us reiterate and actively participate in racism during the gang scene. I fully appreciate that Lovegrove would mock us mightily for being too PC about it, but we both felt uncomfortable with some of the lines and we felt we had to be honest about that. It is part of our ethos to call out this type of thing when we see it.

Reply
Maria
8/5/2016 01:22:22 pm

Thanks for your reply.
I really appreciate calling issues like that out, and have appreciated Art Murmurs for that in the past.
I do not take lightly to those issues taken in jest, infact i'm particularly sensitive, which is why I am still confused re
Reiterating racism in the gang scene.
It might have been different when you there, but I was there on opening night and I remember thinking that this was dangerous territory that we were heading into. The gang name and colour came from the audience (I think it was something like 'cool gang' and 'yellow' or similar), and the voice over accents were very rough Hutt/West Auckland Pakeha accents so again, I'm unsure what you're referring to.
I'm all for calling people out. But I honestly don't understand what's being called out here, in public domain.

Reply
Dell
9/5/2016 04:51:16 pm

We both debated when writing this interview over how much to put in, but we both agree (in hindsight) that we should have said more. What made us both uncomfortable were statements along the lines of "the gang leaders meeting is much more white than I thought." and the way in which he (repeatedly) used the specific word korero.
We both individually wrote separate notes about these things, if one of us noticed and the other didn't we may have overlooked it - but these things made both of us uncomfortable on the night we were there so we felt we should mention it.

Reply
Joseph Moore
9/5/2016 08:06:06 pm

Haha I will give you that last point. I remember on the night you guys came I tried to make a joke about the lack of diversity in my comically white crowd, the intended target being the audience, obviously effed that one up. Apologies if you felt uncomfortable about that! Beyond that though, race is never brought up in the show, and its kinda uncool of you to assume a scene about a clearly fictional and silly gang is a racially charged one. I used the word korero a lot because I am a kiwi and I use the word korero a lot.
That being said, my main issue with this review is that you say that I call out hipster millennial bullshit. I do no such thing, this is very damaging to my brand as NZ Comedy's number one supporter of hipster millennial bullshit, and I will not stand for it. Peace!

Reply
Maria
11/5/2016 12:56:04 am

Thanks for the clarification and specification, Dell.
I think it is important to be specific with such issues.
I think the use of korero didn't stand out to me as I hear it used a lot in the theatre community, because gosh we love to talk. At our theatre hui.

Reply
Dell
11/5/2016 01:13:08 pm

Thanks for asking Maria :).
It has been really interesting to hear how different people viewed this show. I wish I could see it again with this new lens tbh and I'll be certain to be more specific in the future.




Leave a Reply.

    Local Honest Reviews

    At Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community.

    Archives

    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    All Age Appropriate
    Art
    BATS
    Beauty Standards
    Black Comedy
    Body Positive
    Circa
    Circus
    Comedy
    Comedy Festival 2018
    Comedy Festival 2019
    Dance
    Devised
    Documentary
    Drag
    Drama
    Exhibition
    Experimental
    Female Artists
    Feminism
    Festival
    For Kids
    Fringe
    Fun
    Gallery
    Gryphon Theatre
    Heart + Music
    History
    Improv
    International
    Interview
    Ivy
    Lighting
    Local
    Mental Health
    Music
    Musical
    New Writing
    New Zealand
    NZ Comedy
    NZ Fringe
    NZIF
    On Tour
    Photography
    Photospace Gallery
    Physical Theatre
    Political
    Politics
    Premiere
    Pyramid Club
    Queer
    Race
    Science
    Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre
    Sexual Violence
    Shakespeare
    Site Specific
    Site-specific
    Sketch
    Solo Show
    Song
    Spoken Word
    Storytelling
    Te Auaha
    Theatre
    Thought Provoking
    Thought-provoking
    Toi Poneke Gallery
    Verbatim
    Victoria University
    Weekly
    Wellington
    Wellington Footlights