Leung delivers joyful escapism
COMEDY
Lawrence Leung: The Escapist
The Octagon, UWA
Review: Melanie Coram
4.5 stars
The Escapist is as much in the storytelling genre as it is stand-up.
The laughs come just as often and the humour is just as sharp but Lawrence Leung’s one-night only performance felt like a playful odyssey rather than a series of punchlines strung together with paper-thin segues.
There’s no escapology in this show despite Leung being trussed up a la Cuckoo’s Nest in the promo poster.
The straitjacket hangs at the back of the stage for the entire show, just enough of a cameo for Leung to relate how you would go about finding such grim fashion in 2015.
This escapology is metaphorical: escape from cultural expectations, parental guilt and the burden of being an introverted performer.
Who doesn’t need an escape plan for such harrowing modern shackles?
Lessons from a master help. The story of Harry Houdini ties the show together.
Lawrence is in trouble at school – what would Houdini do?
Leung, who will be familiar to TV viewers through Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure, Unbelievable and Maximum Choppage, as well as playing a doctor in Offspring, packs a lot into his hour on stage.
His autobiography travels from sad-faced baby to stand-up star with much made of the family ties that bind us.
From childhood Leung was trapped between Chinese culture and Roman Catholicism. Add to that the hopes of an immigrant family for their son and you can see where his fascination with the great escapist came from.
The incredible life of Houdini is a whimsical device that elevates Leung’s story through contrast and moments of relief.
He intercuts it with his own tales, toying with narrative structure to manufacture dramatic tension, a technique that would serve more stand-up comics.
A highlight for comedy nerds was his impersonation of an agro American comic, all swagger and profanity.
That was funny but only because he – and we, the savvy audience – know we deserve better than in-your-face egotists firing off one-liners and calling it a show.
For our efforts, we deserve Lawrence Leung.
