Heath Franklin’s Chopper claims to be the ‘International Ambassador of Hard’. Here at the Fringe for the first time after being a popular hit on the Ronnie Johns Half Hour, the comedic character is based on the Australian criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. He is rude, macho, and has come to Scotland armed with an arsenal of things that really grind his gears.
This is slick, confident comedy; the gags come thick and fast and few miss the mark. Chopper is cynical and his dry observations cover all the annoyances of modern day life. He wouldn’t be out of place as the youngest contributor to an Australian ‘Grumpy Old Men’ with continual digs at youth culture; dubstep, hipsters and singer songwriters all come under attack.
Franklin’s character swears heavily, enjoying a drink or two on stage. His lines are often dark and he’s happy to choose the crudest word he can think of in any given situation. Chopper does not shy away from controversial material.
Especially impressive was Chopper’s audience banter, he fires back at the audience with gusto and tears a chunk out of the ego of the accountants on the front row. More audience participation in the presentation of his new television show idea was hilarious; Chopper milks the attention of two beautiful women he finds in the audience and abuses his male volunteer, ‘That line usually gets a laugh Mike, I don’t know how you ruined that one.’
Although this show is consistently funny, there was nothing particularly new to see here. Perhaps a little more variation from the slightly dad-style moaning about technology and the things kids are wearing in clubs these days would have been nice.
All in all an enjoyable hour; the audience loved this Aussie rogue.
