MELBOURNE FRINGE 2008
Andrew McClelland's Somewhat Accurate History of Pirates (1550–2017)
Australian Comedy Management
26 September 2008
Festival Hub, Lithuanian Club
Ahhh … now that I’ve realised that Andrew McClelland's Somewhat Accurate History of Pirates (1550–2017) is a return season of a 2003 show,
I’m much more comfortable with it. For one thing, it proves just how far McClelland
has come as a performer and writer, and I changed my opinion from ‘Argh! - walk
the plank ya scurvy tossser‘ to ‘Arrrr, yee be a fine and amusing lad’.
Pirates is presented as a “lecture” about the history of piracy, specifically
the pirates of the Caribbean (and not a Johnny Depp in sight!) The information is
more year 8 project than honours thesis, but it appears as somewhat accurate as
the title suggests. (And I will proudly file my Bachelor of Piratology with my
other well-used academic qualifications.)
McClelland is one of the most
likable comedians around, and his Mix Tape is one of my favourite stand up shows in recentish times. Much of his
success is based on him being a delightfully likeable nerd. Pirates is presented by a likeable-but-not-quite-as-likeable
professor, who becomes much more likeable when McClelland drops the character
and takes over. It’s a very dodgy character performance, but the professor
needed McClelland’s intervention when the show lagged. The character created
distance, while Andrew created intimacy.
As a return show, McClelland spent
his time enjoying the visit to his past and soaking in the obvious love from
his very full audience. He also seemed determined to include every possible joke,
which slowed the pace down considerably and resulted in a very rushed conclusion.
It was kind of nice to see where McClelland
came from, Pirates was fun, but it’s no where near as good as his recent work,
and I’m very glad that he’s sailed into more complex waters.
This review appeared on AussieThearte.com
