New Zealand’s Rhys Darby has arguably travelled further than anyone to perform in Edinburgh, and thank god for low cost long haul flights, because his residency at Gilded Balloon Cave 3 is one of the hidden highlights of the Fringe. He bounds onstage, full of energy and a desire to please, quickly sets the audience at ease, and proceeds to take us on a brief but vocal journey through his own peculiar world of dinosaurs, relatives, and Imax cinema.
Rhys’ style is totally inimitable, breaking his stand up show into component parts of story telling, dance, physical improvisation and a huge range of musical and effect vocalisations. The humour is of the proven small town boy in a big world variety, and while the content may have its equals, the delivery is completely unrivalled. The hour in his presence is ludicrous, surreal and funny, capped off with his final masterstroke dance routine, combining his characters and tales on two final minutes of unadulterated lunacy.
See it for the Trex dance, see it for the Buzz Aldrin “Fuck you, I’ve been to the moon” impressions, and see it for the best ever vocal version of ‘Long Live Rock and Roll’. The one question that should be asked is “Is that his own hair, or is he wearing a terrier?”. I suggest you go and find out for yourselves. Rhys is so pleased to be in Edinburgh, and Edinburgh should be so pleased to have him here.
4/5
Simon Ferguson
