With a title like Michael Tancredi is ‘Curious’, it was obvious that observational humour was Michael’s modus operandi. He used the subject of curiosity as the basis of a show that explored the eccentricities and oddities of modern life. His performance style was conversational, almost storytelling, where he would constantly engage with the punters so that they could relate to both him and the concepts he presented. It was at the opposite end of the spectrum to other observational comics who are often more animated and quicker paced. While setting him apart from rest, his pacing combined with some excessive details in the set ups made the punchiness of his material suffer. If you, as a punter, could settle into his style and adapt to his pacing, you would find that he had plenty of clever and amusing lines that were punctuated by some great wacky gestures, all delivered in a confident manner.
Opening night of his show was marred by several talkative (and possibly intoxicated) punters that were more than happy to chat with Michael. He handled these characters in a friendly and cordial manner that was far from the vicious heckler putdowns you expect from seasoned pros. While I applaud his gentle, non combative approach it had the unfortunate effect of railroading his carefully constructed routines from which he struggled to recover. He constantly tried to find his place in the act, but as soon as a punter piped up or even shuffled in their seat, Michael felt the need to engage in further banter with them. To his credit, some moments of comedy gold emerged from this adlibbing, but the flow of the show was destroyed.
It was even more unfortunate that Michael also had the contend with the venue itself. There was little in the way of a physical barrier separating the performance from the front bar, so in addition to having to deal with ambient noise, punters were wandering in and out throughout the show. Even worse was the fact that this was the only access point to the toilets, smoking courtyard and kitchen so the traffic was continuous. Although the pathway was on the periphery of the room, Michael was easily distracted and his routines were continually suspended at the slightest movement from the shadows in the audience that were amplified given the intimate space.
The show pettered out when Michael asked the audience for topics that he probably hoped would conveniently lead to a joke in his arsenal, but such a helpful prompt was not forthcoming as we were expecting some clever improvisation. By this time it seemed that he had given up entirely and he wanted to look for a way to wrap up the show.
If Michael can manitain his focus, take control of the show and somehow adapt to the unfortunate room structure, his show will go down swimmingly.
Visit the St Kilda Laughs website for booking details.