In the Gilded Balloon’s Dining Room the twinned stand up sets of Australian comics Michael Workman and Tommy Little provided some wonderfully imaginative laughs, a pleasing contrast of styles and a thoroughly enjoyable hour of comedy. While the show as a whole isn’t a world-beater, it’s definitely worth a look if you find yourself at a loss for a late-evening show and it is easily worth the ticket price.
After a brief welcome-slash-introduction from the gregarious Little, the first full set was performed by Workman, an intense-looking chap with platinum-blonde hair. Workman was clearly at home on the stage and thoroughly confident of the quality of his material, which was of an almost uniformly high standard. He drifted from a treatise on the domestication of the cat to life in small town Australia to his current financial woes without ever rambling or losing his delightfully askew logical thread. Deadpan, thoughtful and wonderfully articulate, I hope to see more of Workman’s comedy in the future.
Little could well be forgiven for feeling a bit put out to be going second after such an accomplished set, but if there were any nerves he hid them well. Little’s half was of a much more conventional bent, engaging the audience and discussing career options with a chemical engineering student before telling stories about his slacker brother and beery Australian-stereotype father, all of which were well-told and hit their punchlines neatly.
If you’re looking for some quality work that hasn’t yet hit the big time, these two are well worth the punt.
