A strange thing happened the other night (26 April) in the Fairfax Studio of the Brisbane Powerhouse.
The dimly-lit, cavernous setting evokes a sense of experimentation and discovery. It was no surprise to see a Scottish 30-year-old on his third solo tour, building his brand abroad, performing here. What was surprising, was that as the audience shuffled in, it became obvious that people his junior were not there – nor were many peers. So how was a show centred on being born in the 1990s going to play to people who were most likely parents at that time?
The answer is fine of course, funny is funny – and Connor Burns is funny. He kicked off with crowd work that lay the groundwork for the rest of the show. Crowd work is not the domain of all stand-ups, some have their act polished and that is where their strength lies, but for someone like Connor, it's his secret weapon.
Once he had established who he was dealing with, he not only played off it but let others in the crowd do so too. Amid this joyful and communal atmosphere, the show seemingly went off on tangents that had us in hysterics. In fact, not without some glee several minutes later, he returned to his original bit about the music of different generations. Bits of songs played throughout the show to reference different generational events and attitudes, but this scaffolding served as the loosest of structures.
In front of an audience that included quite a few people from the old country, the Scotsman was right at home. Efforts have clearly been made to expand upon what he has gained from travelling the world presenting jokes about Australians, Kiwis and Americans as well as UK realities. Skewering our own shared experiences and differences is fertile ground but the biggest laughs came from the young comedian's self-assured willingness to make fun of himself. Scotland remains a tough place to come from, a certain pragmatism and straight shooting remain a part of the national character. Yet the great Scottish comedians have always blended a stern toughness with an unapologetic vulnerability. The new breed takes the next evolutionary step in this regard, but remains universally appealing.
With ‘1994’, Connor tackled ageing, and what can be more universal than the pitfalls and lessons learned of our own mortality? He offered a lesson learnt at the end of his show that underlined his growing wisdom – everything that came before underlined his considerable talent to entertain us all.
