Words: Annabelle McKinnon
Amos Gillhas a few identities floating around the public sphere. He’s an ex radio personality for hit107, an Adelaide local, and opener for comedy great Jim Jeffriesin the US, just to name a few. However, the one commonality that exists through all of his identities is that he’s unapologetically hilarious.
Beginning his second show of the Fringe season, Amoslooked settled back into the Rhino Roomfor his Almost Famossold-out Friday night show.
From the outset, it seemed Amos would play into his classic brand of interweaving Australian tropes and stereotypes into his stand up. He spoke of his past; namely his upbringing and private school antics, all while using modern-day problems and turning them on their head. How can the environment be saved? Less condoms, obviously.
The main reoccurring theme throughout the stand-up was his need for success and proving himself to his mother and his peers. This tied in well with his recollection of the time he’s spent building his career in the US, including his comedy act at a sold-out Madison Square Gardenshow. His honesty towards his narcissistic streak and the need for people to like him was both hilarious and refreshing to hear. No topic was off limits, and he made that well-known. From Instagram influencers to famous porn stars and back again to his mother-issues, who Amos described as ‘the block’ after her bout with plastic surgery (trust me, it was hilarious), he left the audience in stitches.
While there were moments where he relied on his trademark bloke humour to execute his story, Amos managed to keep the audience engaged and laughing the entire set. Despite this, his greatest story-telling abilities were certainly shown in the second half, with the audience feeling both a sense of guilt for laughing at his crude jokes and a part of a narrative that left us with a sense of happiness for his success and empathetic towards his past.
At just 27 years old, Amos Gill’s résumé would reflect an utter success story. However, what it doesn’t reflect is his brutal honesty and natural relationship with humour in every struggle he encounters, something which we can all learn from.
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