The ubiquity of social media and the extent to which it has permeated almost every aspect of our lives is staggering. For good or ill, comedy is no exception to this. Sanjay Patel’s new show is one of many that are either expressly about social media or have it as one their primary sources of material. That’s not a bad thing. The depth and breadth of social media’s influence on how we interact, think, vote, buy etc. mean that it is deserving of the attention. But the amount of attention it is given makes it hard to say something new, insightful or funny. The Very Best of the 140 Character Social Media Platform falls victim to this in both substance and form and for the most part left the audience as deadpan as Patel’s mode of delivery.
Patel’s style is very much that of The Flight of the Concords’ Jermain Clement. It plays on the down-to-earth simplicity with which many New Zealenders are stereotyped. As Clement has demonstrated it can work, and work well, as a means to show the absurdity of a mainstream point of view or callousness of what we consider normal interaction. It’s a style that is as much about implication and authenticity as it is about what is being said. This is not to say that Patel lacked authenticity, but below the ‘how to guide’ format of the show, there wasn’t the unique point of view and deep thought that makes much Clement’s work so entertaining and so funny.
The show is basically about how Twitter works and unpacking the ‘real’ meaning of people’s online interactions but rarely adds anything new. There were a couple stand out moments like the AFL-themed dance routine about his best tweets and Oprah visiting New Zealand but laugh out loud moments were few and far between.
Standing on stage and trying to make people laugh takes guts but that alone isn’t always enough. Sanjay Patel has amassed a strong following on Twitter for his one liners but was not able to cross that over to a full show where he is the only attraction and needs more than the occasional witty observation to entertain. Patel likely has more to say and in time may find a better way to say it but in its current form The Very Best of the 140 Character Social Media Platform may be one to scroll past.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Sanjay Patel: The Very Best of the 140 Character Social Media Platform
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets, Collingwood
25 March – 10 April
