Another packed house at Hong Kong's premiere stand-up comedy evening was given a lesson last night in the difference between comedy that travels and comedy that, well, doesn't.
Make no mistake, Simon Fox and Adam Bloom are both top-notch funnymen, having honed their skills for years on London's unforgiving comedy circuit. But while Fox's humour remains rooted for the most part in London and its environs - aside from a couple of obligatory Star Ferry jokes - Bloom's lightning quips, asides and put-downs have more of a universal flavour.
Not for nothing was Bloom named Time Out's Comedian Of The Year last year. He's fast, he's hilarious and - unlike the foul-mouthed Fox - delves below the belt sparingly. You could put him in front of a nursing home full of old folks and be sure of a run on incontinence diapers.
He manages to drag laughs out of topics you would think joke-proof, and although not a physical comedian in the strictest sense, he combines to great effect his kinetic presence, a knack for gurning and a rapid-fire patter.
He launches into his spiel denying he's gay despite his gym-trimmed bod and dyed-blond crop. Then he's off on a manic journey that spares noone, be they the sole audience member to admit he is from Australia (myself), consonant-deficient Cockneys or ink-stained tattoo aficionados. ('Try getting Ralph Lauren tattooed on your nipples - that way all you have to do is put on a wet T-shirt.')
Bloom's appeal is that his riffs often focus on the mundane, giving things a tweak and rendering the most innocuous of topics giggle-worthy. The crowd loved his observation, for example, about the Chinese character for exit. 'It looks like a cactus. Imagine a fire in a Mexican restaurant. You'd have people trying to jump through the pot plants.'
