Comedy Review - Simon Taylor: Big Time
Images courtesy of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
NOBODY WANTS TO WORK ANYMORE!
Long-time comedian and new-time father Simon Taylor dazzles in his show Big Time. Long gone are the days of One Night Stand(s) for Taylor has truly made it and achieved what every comic could only ever dream of: Marriage to an American. Oh and fatherhood.
Melbourne-based Taylor has enjoyed a well-decorated career in comedy for a few years now. At the young age of 24 he found himself all-the-way over in Los Angeles, writing for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and making all other millennials look bad for not wanting to work as hard as him. He then went on to become the first Australian to perform stand-up on Jimmy Fallon, establishing himself as the pinnacle of the Australian Dream. He’s also recently filmed a comedy special at the Sydney Opera House, with Big Time offering exclusive behind-the-scenes content on how he almost got arrested doing so. This is no comedic amateur; he has mastered the art of timing and even the jokes that fell a bit flat were enough to generate snorts of amusement. You could see Taylor working hard to give the people what they wanted, going in certain directions based on our reactions, genuinely prioritising our amusement, and it was a success. You could feel the audience warming up as the 50-minute time slot absolutely flew by.
Big Time is a part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival aka the biggest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world, second only to Edinburgh, so you know you’re getting the creme de la creme of comedians here. Taylor himself has set up camp in the Toff in Town, Curtin House’s very own art deco-inspired venue slinging cheap drinks that make you feel as if you’re watching a classy cabaret; until Taylor starts sensuously dancing to the idea of getting a root canal.
Don’t get too turned on- for the most part the show is pretty family-friendly, after all, Taylor is an adult now. Long gone are the ethnic accent jokes replaced instead by tales of dogs spending over 1k on eating diapers, and being covered in human bodily fluids. His new target audience is Brighton Mums (he’s still working his way up to Hampton Mums) and if the group behind me in the reserved VIP booth are a good indication of success then Taylor absolutely KILLED it with them. His audience interaction was seamless to the point where I hope you all get to experience the Brighton Mum pack as well when you attend. But never fear, you don’t have to own a 2 million dollar home to enjoy Taylor’s gags seeing as he always kept it relevant with jokes centred around cannibalism, the cost of living, and the hellscape that is motivating yourself to work in a world with so little reward - he truly is a millennial and proud.
Inspired by the boomers around him lamenting his people’s hatred of wanting to work hard, he’s also written a new book, illustrated by his wife Lucy Maddox, Things No One Tells You About Babies, a gift for all sleep-deprived new parents,available for purchase after the show. This along with his impending comedy special, makes it pretty clear to all that soon he will be able to pay off his parents’ mortgage. Maybe.
So if you’re a lover of sharply written humour, sacrificing meat to cancel out the environmental damage of procreating, and learning the truth behind how Taylor arrived in Sydney for that special then I can guarantee that Big Time is the show for you.
4/5 Costco international membership cards.
Big Time is showing at the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival between the 28th of March and the 21st of April. For tickets and more info, click here.