Eight years ago when Dan Antoploski was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award his combination of intelligent word-play and general silliness was a joy to behold. Tonight’s show gives the audience flashes of the genius which promised so much, but unfortunately there are also periods when it is clear why he became one of comedy’s also-rans.
Antoploski gets off to a slow start with some decidedly average audience banter. There is nothing here that you haven’t heard a million times before and although he gets some chuckles you begin to worry whether you might have been better taking your chances elsewhere. Antpoloski makes the first of many self-depreciating gags about the quality of his material before claiming “I’m now going to do some pretty funny stuff for you right now!” Thankfully he’s not wrong! His table giving a statistical analysis of how often people laugh off different parts of their body (grouped into past, present and future tenses) is simply brilliant. You have got to be on the ball to get all the jokes here but Antoplski is at his best when he trusts the audience to keep up with his lightning mind.
His quickfire wit is also evident in two ridiculous raps. The first is about a girl who accidently breaks his vase – not a standard hip-hop theme but one that receives warm applause from the audience.
Most of the second half is dedicated to an amusing examination of family life. It’s good but not great and Antopolski is capable of creating a more innovative show. If you haven’t seen him before then you’ll enjoy his “winning mix of geekiness and arrogance” but if you remember him from a few years ago you might end up thinking about what might have been.
3/5 
Ian Armstrong
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