REVIEW: KEVIN KROPINYERI IN WELCOME TO MY WORLD

2013 MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

REVIEW: KEVIN KROPINYERI IN WELCOME TO MY WORLD

VENUE AND DATES: MELBOURNE TOWN HALL UNTIL APRIL 21

ASSESSMENT: Kevin’s comedy misses golden opportunities but shows great promise.

STAR RATING: **

Dressed in a bright red vest, golden tie, and black shirt, bald-headed, indigenous stand-up comedian, Kevin Kropinyeri, is a strikingly handsome and proud Nunga from South Australia.

Some of Kropinyeri’s best material – musings on the physical and cultural differences between indigenous Australians and “white folk”, or parodying the dance moves of indigenous people, and witty observation as to why indigenous people can never finish a drink while dancing to tracks by Witney Huston – all delivered with sweaty enthusiasm, hits the right targets. That latter dance gag, together with an indigenous version of the old Victoria Bitter jingle, where he replaces the letter “B” for the letter “V”, reveals Kropinyeri’s considerable skills as a physical comic and mimic.   

For all of his outward bravado, Kropinyeri, surprisingly, is too restrained, too polite in his observations. He certainly pulls his punches, pardon the pun, when mentioning the recent stoush between indigenous fighters, Daniel Geale and Anthony Mundine.

For someone who grew up on an Aboriginal mission, and who is the father of seven children from 3 Aboriginal women, I would have thought those life-changing events would have presented him with a gold mine of comedy material. Alas, he merely throws out those lines and moves on to something else.

Despite demonstrating great promise as a stand-up comedian, one senses early on in his routine that, Kropinyeri quickly runs out of genuinely funny material. Pity. With more polished written material, and subtle tweaking of his timing and delivery, this handsome Nunga could be world class.

BY: JOE CALLERI

NB: REVIEW ALSO PUBLISHED ON HERALD SUN ONLINE, SATURDAY MARCH 30, 2013.