Clayton Carrick-Leslie – Let’s Be Honest – Review
REVIEWED BY BEN BLACKMAN
Melbourne based comedian and part-time lawyer Clayton Carrick-Leslie has just moved in with his girlfriend. This has made him somewhat hungry but has also provided him a recipe for relationship material. During his performance, he delivered a lengthy but insightful poem that delved into the abyss that comes with incurable hoarder syndrome and managed to summarize the first three seasons of Downtown Abbey with a piano garnish.
I have to admit, the Downtown Abbey segment was a bit lost on me but his impersonations were impressive and I can now say I could confidently converse with fan boy/girls about this TV series phenomenon. What impressed me most about Clayton Carrick-Leslie was his ability to maintain his themes without losing their edge, the piss-taking of his parents and breast-feeding at an unnatural age were the definite highlights of the night.
I felt that the piano accompaniment could have been worked in better as this seemed to dominate the closing of the performance and compromised what was a great start to his show. Apart from that, Clayton Carrick-Leslie was able to offer a fresh ex-pat perspective on the Kiwi accent with John Key in the firing line and next in line for a Navman voice over (the steering balance leaning slightly right of course).
Clayton Carrick-Leslie’s show is aptly titled ‘Let’s be Honest’ and provided some terrific anecdotes that included his time at law school doctoring important documents and the awkwardness of a clueless teacher taking a fourth form class (from an unspecified Auckland girls school) onto a Marae. Go see this show when you can because there is no doubt about it, this man is talented- but not really at hangovers anymore.
Let’s Be Honest is on at The Loft @ Q Theatre at 10pm until 18 May