Daniel Vigilante
Sandra 1
Michael ItaliaComedy: Funny as a Brain Tumor
Comedy Review
Glitch Bar - 2007 Fringe Festival
Levity is something that perhaps doesn’t see the light of day often enough; and for many people, finding humour in a “serious” situation is simply blasphemous. But finding the lighter side of a brain tumour is something that Adrian Maiolla not only does admirably, but has also compacted the 3 and a half year ordeal into a nifty little narrative, complete squeamish details and ornery turns of luck akin to a horror film on sedatives. But rest assure, there’s a happy ending, and Maiolla’s bubbling recant is a testament to it.
Described as a comedy of terrors, Maiolla narrates his way through the series of unfortunate events with an enthusiastic vigour that I suspect to be a mixture of both relief and nervousness. Relief at being alive to tell the goddamn saga, but also a nervous tremor of stage inexperienced that perhaps takes some esteem away from what is an otherwise entertaining piece. It is not laugh-out-loud comedy, and the elocution of some clever lines lacks the bite that a better delivery would have nailed. There are certainly some shining moments and off-the-cuff remarks that display definite promise as a comedian. The more obscure remarks (or footnotes) that Maiolla annotates in between the telling of events had for me the greatest effect, and more emphasis on his own ironic commentary rather than simply the telling of what happened would advantage the comedic merit a little more. Some mediocre impressions and predictable reactions to a string of misfortunes could have been sharper and wittier, but an overall feeling of satisfaction certainly greets the end of the performance.
Glitch Bar - 2007 Fringe Festival
Levity is something that perhaps doesn’t see the light of day often enough; and for many people, finding humour in a “serious” situation is simply blasphemous. But finding the lighter side of a brain tumour is something that Adrian Maiolla not only does admirably, but has also compacted the 3 and a half year ordeal into a nifty little narrative, complete squeamish details and ornery turns of luck akin to a horror film on sedatives. But rest assure, there’s a happy ending, and Maiolla’s bubbling recant is a testament to it.
Described as a comedy of terrors, Maiolla narrates his way through the series of unfortunate events with an enthusiastic vigour that I suspect to be a mixture of both relief and nervousness. Relief at being alive to tell the goddamn saga, but also a nervous tremor of stage inexperienced that perhaps takes some esteem away from what is an otherwise entertaining piece. It is not laugh-out-loud comedy, and the elocution of some clever lines lacks the bite that a better delivery would have nailed. There are certainly some shining moments and off-the-cuff remarks that display definite promise as a comedian. The more obscure remarks (or footnotes) that Maiolla annotates in between the telling of events had for me the greatest effect, and more emphasis on his own ironic commentary rather than simply the telling of what happened would advantage the comedic merit a little more. Some mediocre impressions and predictable reactions to a string of misfortunes could have been sharper and wittier, but an overall feeling of satisfaction certainly greets the end of the performance.
