Nic Samson – The Basement Studio

After leaving home to pursue acting, Nic Sampson was sadly and conspicuously replaced by the family dog but lives to tell the tale in this year’s comedy festival show ‘Replaced By A Dog’. Nic is an experienced actor, much of the material for this 2014 festival show centres around his interactions with people and places discovered on his journey.

It’s a fairly kiwi show, with Vogels getting a good going over, then Weet-Bix coming in for a decent ribbing for training kiwi kids to essentially be happy with losing, even awarding medals for for last place. His solution to this problem is priceless as much as it is harsh. Nic’s animal suit escapades also provide for some entertaining tales, which face the reality of the acting game as he successfully mocks himself along the way.

Easy target Palmerston North also takes a beating with several amusing stories emerging from a two month stint in New Zealand’s capitol of the low key (and that’s a nice way of saying it). A run down of the nightlife in PNC is insightful and brilliant, as Nic nails the factors contributing to the natural coming together of private parts combined with booze – all in his familiar kiwi 20 something dude-ya-know style.

Jokingly overplaying the pretentious nature sometimes attributed to speaking about one’s thespian activities, his dealings with Hollywood elite are also visited. If you’ve read about a certain Hollywood actor before, but never really felt like you got the full story, Nic delivers the goods and lays it all out.

An inane American advertisement is drilled into our heads building to an effective flipped up version ,and thus the highlight of the show. Nic follows with an astute and sarcastic pulling apart of what the f*ck is going through some marketing teams heads? I’ve often wondered the same thing.

Some clever relating back to the dog theme throughout the show wouldn’t have gone astray and although there is a cute reference to wrap up, some little reminders to the original idea might have strung things together a bit more concisely.

Nic delivers some decent chuckles throughout his hour show and proves to be a great storyteller.

Nic Samson – Replaced By A Dog is on at the Basement Studio until 3 May.

Reviewed by Mat Campbell

3 stars

 

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