Mark Scott in Super Joker
The Classic Studio, 321 Queen St, Auckland
08/05/2007 - 12/05/2007
NZ International Comedy Festival 2007-09, 2013
Production Details
Mark Scott spent years treading the path of inventive inspirational comics, only to find himself lost on a crowded track full of carbon copies jostling to get to the end first. One day whilst starving, he looked down at his bed of dirt under someone’s hedge in Calgary, wondering if any punters would pay to see his next show but realizing it was a mute question because he had no bus money to get there himself. He was on the verge of dying. Then something shifted in his brain and he became…Super Joker!
‘SUPER JOKER’ showcases Mark Scott’s hottest new stand up, along with on stage improvisation, giving the audience the show THEY want to see. Mark’s ability to gently interact with an audience means, in addition to plenty of guaranteed laughs, the punters get to have some input into building a stimulating one hour comedy experience which touches the nerves THEY want to have touched.
Mark’s guitar (insert topical woman’s name here) is always at the ready to accompany a pre prepared musical gem, or a completely improvised ballad tailored to the night’s requirements.
One of NZ’s most experienced comedians; Mark’s success in international markets is a testimony to the wide appeal of his comedy style.
§ Performed over forty five festival show runs.
§ Corporate comedian and emcee.
§ Member of World Champion Improvisation Troupe.
§ Comedy clubs through Australia, New Zealand and North America.
§ Comedian on Caribbean cruise boat for “25 – 50 yr olds”.
With so many shows on offer, why should people see yours?
“Super Joker shows how kiwi comedy is continuing to develop at a mercurial rate. It’s a notch up from my last year’s show where grinning punters ended up plying me with drinks and hugs. And the Classic Studio is the perfect intimate setting.”
Dates: Sat 5 & Wed 9 – Sat 12 May, 9.45pm
Venue: The Classic, 321 Queen St, Auckland City
Tickets: Adults $20 Conc. $15 Groups 10+ $15
Bookings: Ticketek 0800 TICKETEK (0800 842 5385)
Show Duration: 1 hour
Theatre , Stand-up comedy , Solo ,
1 hr
The meek shall inherit the laugh
Review by Nik Smythe 06th May 2007
In the charmingly rustic arena of the upstairs Classic Studio it’s very relaxed as the audience enters, orders drinks, seat themselves and chat. There’s just a trace of the concern that seeing comedians in this close space who aren’t amusing (and I have) can be one of the more embarrassingly awkward spots you might find yourself in on the clientele side of showbiz.
Fortunately Mark Scott is funny for the most part, so that’s the important bit covered. A deeper analysis might unleash some great socially challenging profundity if that’s what you’re looking for. As Scott postulates lyrically on varied topics I’m reminded again that comedy is as much philosophy as it is rock and roll.
Scott riffs on a typically eclectic range of subjects including but not limited to science, real estate, pet food advertising, DNA, shark attacks, stiffies, road safety, woodwork, roses and other stuff, and in the middle of it all not one but two(!) angry songs about airport baggage handlers.
His awkward geek personae belies a compulsive tendency to be nosey and obnoxious, mostly to the desired comedic effect. With his thick rimmed glasses and his intermittent numbers strummed out on his classical guitar he’s something like Kiwiana Woody Allen meets acoustic Elvis Costello, if one must draw comparisons, as indeed one must in this line of work (both mine and his).
During the show when he lost his way and was referring to his notes, Scott claimed he was playing the show down so I wouldn’t create too much expectation in this review. Apparently his style is to ‘underpromise and overdeliver’ – I can see that. He has the sort of charisma I spoke of in Ed Byrne’s review, which is able to raise a laugh even if, or even because, the joke is lame.
So if a scruffy strung out young nerd with an penchant for both pseudo-logical idiocy and insightful irony sounds like you then you ought to head along to Super Joker for a laugh.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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