Returning to the New Zealand Comedy Festival with his new show, The Spokesman, Stephen K. Amos delivers an intimate hour of material based around the idea of role models.  

In a black t-shirt and jeans, Amos quickly gets to grips with his front row and gains a rapport through his hilarious observations and relaxed nature.

His laid-back style of comedy puts the audience at great ease, with intelligent wit mixing cleverly alongside spontaneous spells of audience interaction. Australia forms the basis of much of his early material, with the British comedian poking fun at the experiences of his spell over there before heading to New Zealand.

Conducting the whole audience into playing a joke on somebody in the front row when she gets back to her seat works a treat, as does finding out the fears and phobias of his audience. Amos garners many laughs from his own fear of water and being unable to swim, as well as his own unsuitability as a spokesman.

On several occasions his jokes are delivered in a teased-out manner, giving the audience a very interactive feel to proceedings, and it is clear that Amos is having a lot of fun, regularly laughing at the responses of the audience members he speaks with. Whether it is joking about the news coverage of the marmite shortage in New Zealand or the horse meat scandal in the UK, nothing is off-limits and the audience laps it up.

Amos is an experienced comedian who effortlessly glides through his set, eliciting enough laughs to send this audience home very satisfied.

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I last saw Stephen K Amos perform 6 years ago, at the Sky City Theatre, and perhaps it’s the slightly smaller venue, or perhaps the less formal attire  (the man certainly knew how to rock a vintage suit in 2007), but this evening’s show feels a lot more intimate and relaxed that my previous encounter with him.

It really is fantastic to watch a comedian build rapport with their audience so quickly and have them in the palm of their hand with such ease – even the unsuspecting members who provide much off-the-cuff material for him (warning: if you are a teenage boy considering attending his show with your Mother you may want to re-think this for fear of some awkward silences on the car ride home).

The anagrammatical title of Amos’ show – The Spokesman – provides a solid foundation for him to share his stories and social observations. As he promises the audience at the beginning of the show, he takes us everywhere, referencing spokesmen and role models – the good, the bad, and the ugly – to segue into some wickedly funny pieces.

Amos is still a consummate entertainer; he’s charming, has a lovely resonant voice and a great physicality. But what makes him particularly clever is his understanding of pace and how to use it to keep an audience engaged, and his ability to flow between his longer stories and cheeky one-liners, peppering these with audience interactions, serves him well.  

Plus he is just very funny. Even when he fumbles a joke early on in the performance he deftly uses the situation to his advantage; a scenario I have seen completely throw other comedians off their game.

Six years ago, Stephen K Amos was telling his audience to “Find the funnies”. It seems he hasn’t stopped.

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