Le Cascadeur at The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Until March 17
Nina Oyama is incredibly sweet-natured. Which is handy because she’s also absolutely filthy.
This is not stand-up comedy for the faint-hearted, which she makes clear right from the start. “Is anybody here because they saw on Utopia?’ she asks referring to the ABC TV hit.
“Um…this show’s not like that”.
And it’s very much not. This is a comedy set where Oyama goes deep, for want of a better phrase. Race, mental health, gender and sexuality all feature heavily as she delivers lines which at times make the audience laugh, occasionally just make her laugh, but mostly have us all laughing.
Her sweetness is effectively a weapon. She’s so naturally, incurably likeable it doesn’t matter what she says, you’re happy to let her get away with it all.
From beef with cyclists to ovarian cysts to skateboarding right into a Priceline (before switching to a Dickensian orphan approach), Nina Oyama has stories. She tells us she’s been away from stand-up for a while, and as she works through ideas some don’t land as well as others. It doesn’t really matter though because there’s always another anecdote, and another chance to get a glimpse into her world. At the very least a chance to learn Adelaide doesn’t have any 7-11 stores.
She doesn’t always mine the most obviously comic material (the crippling pain of endometriosis, anyone?) but Oyama’s so authentically herself at the microphone you’re willing to follow her down any rabbit hole.
Or maybe hobbit hole. But that’s a whole other story – and I’ll leave it for her to tell.
4 out of 5 stars
Get tickets here
