Ryan Coffey likens his appearance to that of a gay Ned Kelly, but do not let that deter you. Ryan is the next wave of great Australian musical comedy. Ryan owns the stage and has complete control of his material, using a loop machine perfectly to create his own backing tracks and harmonising vocals. He has a great vocal range and moves easily from cabaret to falsetto to rock.
The material is more than just politically incorrect, it is wrong, all delivered with incredible timing and his ironic tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
Before your brain has had the chance to tell you not to laugh it is all too little too late as the laughter has already escaped your lips and your hands are clapping.
Two things let Ryan down during this show. 1. It finished all too soon, the “encore” is an absolute highlight but if the chanting of the way too small audience is anything to go by he could have easily entertained for longer. 2. The audience members (and there were more than one of them tonight) who not only offered their own commentary to Ryan’s jokes but also felt compelled to tell their own stories. Proving that his material hit the mark and was relatable I often found it hard to hear two jokes in a row. The second joke often drowned out by a rambling anecdote of the audience’s co-workers and neighbours.
A must see, his tickets will not remain so cheap or easy to obtain for long. Expect him to be selling out bigger venues in future festivals.
