Oh to spend a day in Rob Auton’s head, looking at the world with such wide-eyed wonder. Although, as the title suggests, he spends a fair bit of this latest show on a whole different planet, which does detract from the down-to-earth philosophising, somewhat.
The shaggy-haired Yorkshireman is telling shaggy-dog tales these days, as a more elaborate vehicle for his usual mix of standup and storytelling. This one involves him working as an estate agent on Jupiter, and selling property on Earth, which allows him to assess things from a distance. Where other comics bemoan the current global binfire, Auton prefers to point out the positives. He’s his own man. Autonomous.
As ever there’s some lovely stuff here, paeons to frogs and foliage, musings on curious British sayings, and a workable method for getting kids interested in birds rather than memes. But that theatrical device also adds a layer of distance between him and the audience, as he addresses his imaginary interplanetary clients, rather than involving us directly. And those characters aren’t really fleshed out, so it’s hard to fully engage with them.
It works best when you forget the conceit and just revel in his thoughts, and that artfully-forged wordplay, which are stellar.
Rob Auton: JUPITER, Assembly Roxy, until 30 Aug, 1pm