Show Rating:

The name of Rolink's show, Bhoy from the Bush - came about not because Rolink is Australian, but he thinks it might be a cheap and easy way to attract the Ozzy crowd. It didn't work the night I was there, but he gave us an enjoyable enough 40 minutes of jokes and banter.

Rolink covers a large number of topics with no thematic link, with varying success. There's a very amusing anecdote about career in modeling (apparently the large darts-player look is in surprising demand) and some material on his Russian wife. Other material is less original: discussing the funny names of the streets in which he grew up, ranting about the current state of universities and the ridiculous subjects one can get a degree in these days, and the Iraq war. He even commits what must now be a cardinal sin of comedy, and gives us a George Bush quote verbatim: possibly the easiest way for comics of our time to get a quick laugh with minimal effort.

One of the more interesting things about Rolink is that his presentation is almost Bernard Manning-esque, though he's certainly performing 'alternate' comedy. Nevertheless from time to time he'll drop in a quick aside or brief comment straight out of the classical book, along the lines of 'my mother in law wouldn't approve'. It's an interesting contrast to see these two disparate style working in tandem.

Rolink's show isn't brilliant but considering the price it's worth catching if you have a spare hour.

Dean Love