With a mess of blond hair and wearing an oversized shiny suit, Theo Mason Wood comes on stage with the studied air of seediness of a hungover student-cum-car salesman. It’s a schtick he carries well, as he unfolds the tatty tale of a recent break-up via iPhone mood music and terrible poetry.
Wood relies heavily on cultivating a knowing wink with the audience, skirting the borders of good taste as he deliberately leans into the sad-sack persona of a particular type of guy whose self-belief is also scruffily delusional. The comedy unfolds in digressions and call-backs rather than neatly cultivated punchlines. It lives in a slow roll of awkward laughter.
He’s got a good, twinkly swagger, particularly when implicitly challenging us to take offence as the scenarios escalate. There’s an almost clownish, self-deprecating element, set against a nicely observed boorish, beery backroom vibe.
This is an hour that relies heavily on Wood’s dynamic with everyone else in the room for the comedy to land. This is the strength and the weakness of the show. He has an easy on-stage charisma, but there are times when he slightly falters at committing to the more extreme stuff – and so do the laughs.
Theo Mason Wood: Legalise Kissing, Underbelly, Bristo Square, until 24 Aug, 10pm