It’s the end of a long Wednesday. The sun is cutting sideways. I’m tired. Will I ever laugh again?
In the triangular corner of Inch Bar, an intimate audience has assembled. There are a lot of loud voices all at once. This particular viewer is feeling suspiciously hard to please. A pint of Bookbinder in hand and a comfortable seat should see me right. Taylor Ruddle’s Panic! At the Buffet stand-up show is about anxiety and food, two things I happen to be expert in, having been fat, female and seasonally depressed for the entirety of my memorable life. Laughing is less familiar territory but could be an excellent tool for the reclamation of power surrounding such anxiety. All this rationalisation just to get in the door.
Ruddle let his audience know that the show was based on five real-life panic attacks he has had around or about food, as a fat man, I assume. Ruddle came on stage to perform with a real smooth gusto. I appreciated the way he engaged with the audience and involved them in the show.
After Ruddle introduced himself as a former alt kid and recovering bogan, he located us all in the social geographies of Te Wai Pounamu. A couple of girls from Tauranga moved south, a Southland son and farmer, a couple of local couples, a crew. A few dreams of super clean DCs and trucks with cut suspension. Black skinny jeans. The show included notes on personal aesthetics from the comedian, who was clad casually in all black, though I found myself imagining him in a pink sequin suit and pointy shoes, sparkling to match his showman’s spirit.
“Ruddle’s show was a fantastic investigation into the effects of anti-intellectualism in New Zealand, of self-realisation, and the true dangers of small-town Four Square checkouts.”
I only wished he wouldn’t have disagreed with audience suggestions or turned away the guy who started onlooking halfway through, because I could tell interrupted his flow. Just make a joke about it, bro.
I don’t want to spoil the show, but I’ll mention the excellent reference to Yu-Gi-Oh! as a protector, the Norse tree of life, the too-big vocabulary and the tendency to overthink. Ruddle’s show was a fantastic investigation into the effects of anti-intellectualism in New Zealand, of self-realisation, and the true dangers of small-town Four Square checkouts.
The one-liners laced throughout Panic! At the Buffet worked nicely to punctuate the evening. I don’t go to a lot of comedy shows but that night found myself incredibly grateful for a laugh at the end of a long day. Thanks for making us all feel a bit more human, Taylor, and ngā mihi nui to the Dunedin Fringe crew, too, for bringing life to the city!
Featured photo courtesy of Taylor Ruddle.
