Russell Peters

Russell Peters will open his New Zealand tour in a couple of hours, and I'm one of the lucky few to have a ticket to tonight's show. After having seen *that* video in 2004 and his act in New York City, it goes without saying that I'm expecting great things from him this evening (but I went ahead and said it anyway). For those of you who haven't already seen one of his acts (let's be honest here, perhaps wriggling out from under that rock should be top of your priorities then), he is an extremely talented stand-up comic who specialises in mimicry. Some of his impressions are absolutely spot-on. Unfortunately, the race-based schtick is also his biggest drawback, as he rarely seems to do any other form of comedy. Here's hoping that we see some new material tonight, and maybe even a few jokes that don't depend on people's races. I'll post a short review later tonight.

By the way, what's with that "I'm a comedian" pose? Do people not believe a guy is funny unless he pulls a funny face or shrugs his shoulders in the poster? That seems to be the criterion for comedic quality.

"Oh look, he's shrugging his shoulders - this guy's a quality comedian. I wonder if he'll be as good as the one with the rubber face."

Don't go by Russell's meek shoulder shrug. Trust me, he's funny.