Walking in to the upstairs performance space at the Producers Hotel for a comedy show, could potentially be slightly daunting being a cosy (read, small) space, with nowhere for introverts to hide….however we were all greeted warmly by Aidan Jones who was already sitting on stage, chatting away amiably. He put everyone at ease and with his clever and funny banter he either intentionally or inadvertently, acted in the role of the warm up comedian….for himself. And a mighty fine job he did too.
With the audience already laughing, relaxed and enjoying the show, he ‘introduced himself’ to raucous (not at all incited) applause and officially began the show.
Aidan Jones delivers exactly what you’d expect from seeing his promotional material. A stand up comedy about love, family and gardening. And passing time. His promotional photos indicate some angst and he is the first to suggest his stories revolve around the theme of resentment and bitterness. So, how does this create a comedy show?
Aidan is a master storyteller. He is an observer of life. He has developed the skill of analysing situations, especially awkward or distressing ones and finding the humour in them. He can be both philosophical and thought provoking as well as uproariously funny, keeping a balance across each story and across the whole show.
Clever writing and a storyteller’s craft enable us as the audience to follow along and become engrossed in the stories. We follow Aidan down the path he leads us and then with verbal sleight of hand, we are thrown in a completely different direction with a hilarious twist. He constantly keeps us guessing and is full of surprises, with big laughs acting as punctuation marks to the entertaining stories.
Aidan is a polished performer and his experience from touring the world and working diligently for many years at his craft is evident in his ease and spontaneity. He is currently fine tuning a little of his new material and constantly reviewing, testing and editing. Aidan’s delivery and timing is spot on and his stories are unique as well as relatable.
The atmosphere in the room was warm and convivial, with the audience’s attention and laughter testament to the calibre of the show. This is a highly entertaining and extremely funny hour of stories, both heartwarming and at times guiltily laughed at ‘Schadenfreud’ moments. Go along for some laughs, a little introspection if you will and an opportunity to learn a little about Aidan’s magnificent grandpa!
Aidan’s show, ‘Time Passing’ is at The Producers Hotel until March 6.
Book tickets via the Adelaide Fringe website.
View one of Aidan’s previous stand up comedy special on YouTube
This is what it is all about!
“I’m half-Colombian because my Mum was backpacking in South America when she was 22, came home and found out she was pregnant – that’s me. In 2019 I went to Austria to meet my biological father for the first time. It got heaps of likes on Instagram, so I wrote an hour of stand up about it.”
