Review: CARL BARRON: DRINKING WITH A FORK, Eventim Apollo

It's not every day you get to sit in such a large auditorium and watch one person entertain you for 90 minutes. When you think about it, it's actually a lot of pressure for just one individual. The Eventim holds over 3,500 people, and with that comes that same amount of varying personal tastes to have to appeal to.

With this mammoth task in hand, Carl Barron steps onto the stage and is immediately greeted by thunderous applause. The audience are already on his side - phew. He quips, saying that there must be a lot of Aussies in the room. More cheers. He says something else related to his home country and there's even louder laughter.

It becomes immediately clear that this show is tailored to the expats from across the globe that now reside in the UK. There are a lot of jokes that require certain specific knowledge of Australian culture, so to the British eye it doesn't always make sense. But still, there's a clear enthusiasm beaming from Carl, which you quickly get on board with.

Barron is incredibly physical in his delivery, strutting up and down the stage like an overexcited child at Christmas. To watch it is exhausting enough, so props to him for keeping it up for the entire show. There's never a dry moment and every joke seems to land correctly in order to serve his intention.

However, this giddiness at times results in a lack of clarity in delivery, and as Barron rushes through his material some of his jokes become inaudible. Now, I may not be hearing them because of his think Aussie accent and my English ears, but even so, I want to keep up, so it's rather jarring that I'm not able to.

But ultimately, Barron excels in this field and there is no doubting his natural talent. He seems totally at ease being observed by so many people and takes every moment in his stride. The hecklers are quickly deflected, his words are eagerly anticipated and all in all it makes for a great night out.

Carl Barron was at the Eventim Apollo on 3 March

Photo courtesy of Carl Barron

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