Billy T nominee Patch Lambert builds his ‘TERRORdactyl’ show out of locally-sourced materials and a sharp eye for the odd angle. Being born with a medical condition requiring surgery; coming from the Hutt; working for Bunnings; being a new father and more all go into the mix.

What comes out seems a bit random, at first. Here’s some guy in a Star Wars T-shirt and jeans standing on stage with a mic, turning over the pieces of his life, offering his audience moments that they might find entertaining. It’s a bit like someone taking us through his photo album. “Here’s dad talking to the priest just before I went into surgery, aged one hour. A bit grim, but I can see the funny side now. Whaddya reckon? Yeah? What about this one, of me aged six, when I thought there was a pterodactyl in the house. Pretty funny?” And so on.

Soon, however, you realise that Lambert has a plan – maybe a loose plan, but a plan nevertheless – as the gags begin to return, and join up (I particularly like the one about the pickup line), gathering effect each time.

We learn that Lambert left Bunnings after working there for five years, to become a stand-up comic; and in its own way the show explains why. The explanation is partly the obvious one – something to do with the work being boring. Partly, it’s about the way Lambert constructs his show, creating a collection of comic motifs that he can then move around, playing with them individually and together, making different combinations. There’s real skill being put to use here, and it was quite possibly a bit under-used at Bunnings. 

Lambert refers to himself as an artist at one stage – it’s meant as a joke (in context, it’s a good joke), but I wonder if he doesn’t have moments when he thinks that he’s exactly that: an artist. If so, this reviewer thinks he’s got a point. Or another way of looking at it is that he might be grown up with a job and a family, but he’s still the kid who loved to play with Star Wars models and characters. Both angles work.

Lambert puts a lot of energy and concentration into his show on stage. This helps him get his material across to the audience. It also adds a “man on a high wire” element: can he make the next step or trick? It doesn’t make for a relaxing experience, for the audience, or, we can guess, the performer. There is the odd slip, which Lambert mostly recovers from with gusto.

There is plenty to laugh at, as you’d hope in an hour-long show, and the audience gets and appreciates the gags. This reviewer particularly likes the way Lambert brings his themes together with a snap at the finish. 

It’s R18 but I wouldn’t bother about that unless the F-word causes you a lot of grief.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer