REVIEW: David Correos: The Correos Effect (NZ International Comedy Festival)

Review by Matt Baker

[What do you want?]

David Correos is an inarguably unique comedian. A masochist who derives pleasure from watching his audience squirm, I truly believe there is nothing this man wouldn’t do for a laugh. He’s the guy from high school who always chose “dare”, and takes things to the extreme – then pushes them further. Shock value is his trade, and while he has no competition in that area, this business model fails to provide Correos with the opportunity to develop as a comedian, because it relies solely on his strengths, and while one shouldn’t restrain or dictate comedy to a comedian, these strengths require more craft around them to create a more complete show.

The Correos Effect is a self-reflective, self-proclaimed, coming-of-age comedy, in which Correos addresses the inconsistency in both critical and audience’s responses to his work. In order to illustrate this repugnancy, Correos takes us through a journey of his first, best, and worst sketches, followed by outbursts of “What do you want?!”, and preceded with messy lead-ins. These lead-ins are where Correos fails to create a journey for the audience, and consequently create a show that is more than the sum of its parts.

There is a point Correos is trying to make with his repeated questioning, and while he does reach it in the end, it lacks poignancy. It may seem odd to consider the potential for artistic depth to some of the more repulsive components to Correos’ set, but there is genius to the madness, and with the application of craft and connectivity in the structure of his story-telling, there is an opportunity for great, and still shocking and incomparable comedy.

David Correos plays Q Vault until 5 May. 

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