Words Oliver Smith

I was a windy night on Saturday as I made my way to the Vault at Q Theatre to see Alexis Dubus Verses The World. The temperature was a friendly 18ºC as it had been the night before, but the torrential downpour I had heard from inside my house a few hours before the show, indicated that on this night, there would be a greater chance of rain, and humidity. I was pleased to find that there was a fan (ED: Oliver Smith, once again nailing the punishing weather chat).

I made my way into the venue, noticing that Dubus had opted to personalise his stage, giving an indication of what was to come during the show. As well as the standard microphone and table, there was a globe, a hat and a coat hanger, various papers on the table and a welcome sign. This gave me the impression of variety, that this show was to be a nice mix of comedy styles, which was proven to be the case, in short, Dubus has range.

There was a familiar atmosphere in the air, it appears Dubus has built up a following in New Zealand as a fair few had been to one of his shows before, I noted there were a couple British ex-pats in the audience. It was clear that this was a receptive audience that knew what to expect, the makings of a good hour of comedy.

The lights went down, and Dubus came on to an introductory song, clad in a resplendent green velvet suit. He effortlessly bantered with the audience and gave us a heads up on proceedings, a collection of poems, songs and stories he had penned while on the road.

Dubus is undoubtedly a rare talent. The depth of his material and ability to seamlessly transition from stock-standard stand-up to hilarious spoken word, to witty songs is something to behold. His material ranged from observational to surreal, from tales of time spent on tour to poems about basic aspects of his everyday life, with a song or two for good measure. Alexis Dubus has a knack for making the fundamental parts of life hilarious. He’s also not above dropping the odd dick joke.

Alexis Dubus Verses On The World is a unique experience, refreshing with its level of variety. This show is purely the display of a experienced and talented comic doing what he does best.

While I’d genuinely recommend this show to anyone, in particular to people who like comedy to be a little bit different.

The Auckland run of this show has ended, however here are details of his Wellington run for anyone in the capital.

DETAILS
What: Alexis Dubus Verses The World

Who: Alexis Dubus

When: 8 – 12 May

Where: The Fringe Bar