Eli Matthewson: Comedy Festival Review

Eli Matthewson: Comedy Festival Review

Nominated for the Billy T award for 2013, Eli's certainly got the pressure of expectation on his shoulders.

But, my goodness, doesn't he carry it well?

This self-assured, extremely confident and utterly impressive young comedian (he's hit 25) brought his autobiographical show to the Basement Theatre.

Proposition: Great! takes a look at Eli's life growing up in Christchurch, coming out and getting to grips with a quarter life crisis. But the themes are universal - self awareness, self acceptance and ultimately self happiness.

Eli manages to bring to the table a wisdom beyond his years, a cheeky and rapid fire quick wit (in among some smut) and an intelligence which is borderline genius. He's also got the timing of some of his lines down to perfection, knowing when to read the crowd and when to deliver the killer blow. Not all of his young ilk have mastered that yet to be honest, but Eli shows comedy chops beyond his years.

While the show predominantly concentrates on his own identity and the journey to that, you can be sure that stories of awkwardness with the opposite sex and obsessions with films are ones everyone will recognise. Throwing in some theatrical flair and a lot of performance punch, Eli's show is one which never stops surprising, entertaining and amusing. A few side lines and quick throwaway comments show he's constantly thinking on his feet and he emerges with a strong sense of comic identity and the ability to keep a crowd interested and engaged throughout.

A wonderful wrong-footing of the audience pervades the finale and with some Jurassic Park style mimicry to rival even Rhys Darby's own dino impressions, there's a real sense that this comic is an extremely rising star.

Nominated for this year's Billy T Award, I'd suggest Eli is a very, very strong contender - with his clever play on stereotypes and the usual anecdotes and an honesty which makes him extremely approachable and watchable, you'd be wise to place some money on this guy crossing the finish line first come the Last Laughs closing night on May 19th.