Ross Noble – Brain Dump: Impromptu Brilliance… Noble-Style @ Royalty Theatre – Adelaide Fringe Review

Royalty Theatre, Wed 9 Mar Opening with a stylish and funny musical video about turning off your smart phones Ross Noble brought his Brain Dump to a very hot Royalty Theatre last night, which, as he said does smell a bit like an old lady’s house. Back-dropped by a fantastic stage-set of huge light globes piled up to the roof, Ross had plenty of jokes about the age and dubious status of the theatre, and the current Adelaide heat wave. His interaction with audience members is warm and hilarious and inspired some great laughs throughout the night. Two latecomers in the front row were transformed from SA State Government Development workers to Isis-hunting spies, peering over walls and crawling through air conditioner ducts. Another’s tattoos launched a whole Disney-character play and Tinkerbell and the Little Mermaid will never be the same again. My favourites pieces were the ‘Isis hates circuses’ theory, backed up by zany reasoning and hilarious demonstrations and some creative ideas on how Britain can beat terrorism. Noble’s style is a mish-mash of audience-inspired stream of consciousness and some already tried pieces and he is a master at this combination, though some of his brain dumps wander into random territories that only he can understand. He is clever enough that the audience doesn’t mind though and his wackiness is part of Noble’s high appeal. The second act opened with a discussion of his bucket list, which, bewilderingly, includes having sex with a dolphin, in many different settings as it turned out. What the…? And we heard a lot about his recent vasectomy and the state of his testicles, something that is infinitely more interesting to the owner of said testicles than to those having to envision them. Funny for some but it all rambled on a bit long with too much repetition. It would have been a tighter one-act show with the terrific jokes and impromptu brilliance leaving us wanting more. Nikki Fort Ross Noble – Brain Dump continues at Royalty Theatre from 8pm until Sun 13 Mar. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 and adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.