They say time flies when you’re having fun, and Simon McKinney’s Special is the quintessential case in point, in that his hour-long set feels like about half that.  I gather the title refers to the fact that his show is being filmed for a forthcoming DVD.  Not on the first night though; instead we’re privileged to witness a kind of preview night in which he loosely plots out the routine to be ready for tomorrow night’s shoot.

You could be forgiven for not knowing that he’s celebrated as ‘New Zealand’s best character impressionist’, especially given he’s been away for years ‘filling venues across the globe’.  But he’s back home for a limited time to record this DVD special (and lend his screen acting chops to TV3’s puppet comedy The Moe Show) and any opportunity to see him in action is well recommended.

Simon’s smooth, relaxed style and tone hark back to the days of raconteur entertainers before it was even called standup; his snappy three-piece suit and blond quiff have me thinking ‘Tintin Bond’.  His affable, approachable personality has the crowd on-side all the way, and he barely even swears, so really in the present day comedy climate his old-fashioned glib charm is something of a unique selling point.

Dabbling very lightly in celebrity impressions, for the most part, his anecdotes involve an eclectic cast of recognisable character tropes.  Even as he smartly exploits blatant stereotypes – obtuse Americans, humourless Germans, unintelligible Australians et al, you just can’t get mad at the cheeky rascal.  His high-register female voices are particularly credible, and his observations on men and women’s comparative typical behaviour when drunk are roundly applauded as spot-on and hilarious. 

Occasional mutterings to himself about what’s working or not, and even abandoning a couple of gags when he flubs the set up notwithstanding, there’s no denying McKinney’s quietly formidable prowess as an observational standup character comedian.  

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