The foyer of The Classic was buzzing as would be expected on the first official night of the 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival. 

The bar was under siege before the start of Chris Martin’s first show and the queue for the theatre snaked out the door to the last of the smokers building up their nicotine levels before the hour-long show. But once we were shown our seats we knew we were in for an intimate night of comedy, especially given the warm reception from the people at the table we were seated at. [More] 

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Chris Martin comes onto the stage to loud applause and some friendly ‘Kiwi-styled’ cheering in front of a three quarters full San Francisco Bathhouse.

Martin, a young British comedian who has never sung in a band called Coldplay, initially comes across as rather quiet and reserved, but during his hour long set both he and the audience warm and the end is far better than the beginning. 

Early on he politely converses with several of the audience members in the front row, as well as those willing to yell out comments from the back. Martin is never rude to his audience members, so we quickly grow comfortable with his conversational style of comedy. Even when a couple arrive 25 minutes late for the gig, he is courteous, and pauses his rant to make sure they are happily seated.

Even after embarrassingly mistaking a couple of friends for a mother and daughter, he is happy to make fun of his own mistake and point out that perhaps he is slowly, “losing members of the audience” with the errors he does make.

Perhaps this truly is the case in the opening 10 or 15 minutes, where the jokes seem slow and spread out. However, after this slow start, he begins to warm up, and may have benefited from some extra time at the very end. 

Martin has many moments of cleverness in his jokes, and many of the punch-lines are as thought-provoking as they are funny. My particular favourites include anecdotes about dogs, how fear ‘works’ and a shopping experience while abroad. The majority of Martin’s show consists of personal stories and opinionated rants, which are both relatable and funny.

Structurally, Martin skilfully has a way of making the whole show have a definite finish, with constant references to a teapot prop he has on stage. While never fully telling the story behind it until the end of the show, he keeps the audience in the palm of his hand for the entire set, and the pay-off does not come as a disappointment.

Chris Martin delivers an hour’s worth of funny, clever, clean and thought-provoking comedy, and while perhaps not the funniest, Martin makes up for it with an on-stage persona which is polite, caring and likeable. Recommended. 

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