Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett

Comedians can always take some solace from the fact that whatever awful or bizarre experiences they encounter, they can always provide grist for their next routine.

So ‘lucky’ old Aidan Jones, who moved to London to follow his stand-up dreams, only to wind up living in an insalubrious shared house with a brazen conman who systematically defrauded the other flatmates out of hundreds of pounds

He has already recounted those dubious goings-on in a blog, which got quite some traction online, while keeping it secret from the fraudster. And now it provides rich raw material for his first Melbourne comedy festival show.

Jones recounts the disquieting story with a light, but compelling, touch. In the intimate Pilgrim Bar, he transports the audience to that corner of London, empathising with him as he relives the gruelling nights trying to make it in comedy, andwhat dramass he might come home to courtesy of the resident crook. 

But his tales from Abersham Road are not the only strand in this engrossing hour. He skilfully weaves into it stories of his own relationship misadventures and STI diagnosis, tells of his shock when his parents split up after almost 25 years, and describes contacting his biological, Columbian, father for the first time, which didn’t end in the bonding he might have hoped. Ultimately this show is more about trust and relationships than it is a portrait of a small-time criminal.

A natural writer, Jones ensures all these stories unfold in an entirely organic way. There’s no signposting of any structure, the show feels just like an engaging bloke holding court – which is exactly what it is.

Sidesplitting laughs might be thin on the ground, but the yarn is spun with a fatalistic good humour. Gregarious in his real-life stage persona, he’s a sympathetic figure in his story too, maintaining an optimism through all the difficulties and strange encounters, trying to see the best in people.

Such positivity cheers an audience who are gripped by a great story, and surely happy it never happened to them.

Review date: 7 Apr 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival