Simon McKinney is a really nice, polite guy – like the ‘boy next door’ you know Mum & Dad would love to meet. But can nice & polite be funny?  Oh yes.

Even though occasionally his routine feels slightly over rehearsed – right down to the last pause and intentional word-muddle – his content and delivery are refreshingly upbeat, quirky and entertaining.

Choosing to concentrate on his own experiences, McKinney uses his trade mark vocal characters and facial expressions to cheerfully share entertaining memories of working and travelling in the UK; working as a Jeff Wilson Mascot in his home town of Dunedin; Radio 4XD; his man-hating History teacher and her obsession with his compass (disturbing but hilarious) and the ill-fated deflated red M&M from Planet2.

His mood is carefree and light-hearted – even the retelling of the ‘leaving it too late to have a dump’ story, is done with that likable optimistic exuberance and with empathy for those who have shared a similar experience (such a boy thing…), rather than gross shock-value. 

A keen observer of human behaviour, he re-enacts and embellishes the reactions of kids, parents and other interesting characters, with excellent comic timing and the skill of a seasoned actor.

Stand out moments include ‘uptight angry women with penetrating gaze’; ‘excessively made-up old woman who swears like trouper’; ‘Jim Henson channelling Miss Piggy through a drunk Yoda’ and the ‘pirate-parent.’

Finishing on his ‘drunken man delegated to call a taxi’ routine, his appreciative audience give him anything but a really nice, polite response – we cheer heartily and applaud loudly.

This intelligent gem is worth venturing out in the cold for.
  

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Billy T. James nominee Simon McKinney finished his Wellington season on Saturday with Land of the Long White Clown. In a show made up of mostly new material he kept the full crowd laughing from go to whoa.

McKinney is best known for his ‘funny voices’ which he uses with great skill to bring to the stage a range of characters and experiences, from over made-up aggressive old people to an hilarious sequence called ‘Parents of the Caribbean’.

His set starts with some ‘poo’ material that has me worried we’re in for toilet humour but he has us in stitches as we recognise the pain of being caught in extremis in public. This, and his sequence about make-up addicted pensioners, is his weakest material. He even currently ends both sequences by admitting there is no punch line as yet. But his charm and stage skills get him by where other comics could have easily failed.

I have seen McKinney over the years and was impressed with the smoothness of his set. He was prone to lengthy somewhat rambling sets but on Saturday night he was tight and the transitions through the material were seamless.

His ability to ‘perform’ his characters is one of his greatest talents which he uses with aplomb. He’s a natural performer with some quirky views on life who really knows how to handle an audience.

His final section on ‘The Drunk Taxi Call’ is genius and has the crowd (who might later be doing exactly what he was doing) hooting with laughter.

McKinney, (along with Jeremy Elwood and Dai Henwood) is being managed by the new company Notorious Management and the change is noticeable. One of the nicest and most talented performers hitting his stride, it won’t be long before he is one of those comics headlining festivals around the world.
  

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer