Review: Anthony Salame

Victoria Hughes on May 11, 2010 – 12:29 pm

Anthony Salame - On Fire at the Factory Theatre, Victoria Rd, Marrickville

If I were to be the receiver of terrible news, I would like Anthony Salame to break it to me, please. Somehow, it just wouldn’t seem so bad coming from him. The conversation would go along these lines.

Anthony: Hi there, I’m sorry to tell you that your beloved dog has been killed in a raging house fire. At your house. 

Me: Oh. Really? Well, not to worry. Ha. You’re funny.  Do that seagull impression again!

Salame, an Australian of Lebanese descent, has a cheeky smile and a ‘wide boy’ demeanour which work really well on stage with an intimate audience. His act flowed well, even though he managed to incorporate many asides (mainly to cute female audience members) and he used the audience to bounce off - a brave decision for a comedian I think.

Salame is certainly not discriminatory in his piss taking. A multitude of races - from the Serbians to the English get their share of digs. Not to mention the Lebanese. On his own website, Salame says that “Racism is not something you can ever get rid of but if we can learn to laugh at it, the world will be a better place.” The idea being to, I guess, belittle it. Do I agree with him? I don’t know. I wish I thought it was that simple. Maybe my doubt lies in the fact that some people hearing his ‘stabs’ would agree with them, rather than laugh at them. Perhaps it’s that I feel he is asking too much of some people to get the irony he’s presenting.

I am probably a bit oversensitive when it comes to racism, and at times Salame’s humour teetered on the edge of decency for me, but I found myself laughing along nonetheless.  He got away with it - just. I would suggest that if you’re planning to go and see him (and you really should), it’s pretty essential that you leave any political correctness at the door.

My husband was crying with laughter during the show, and he wasn’t alone. The audience loved Salame’s mischievous quips and enjoyed his interaction. He was playing to quite a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds, yet everyone seemed to embrace him in one way or another, which I thought was interesting.

 His impersonations and impressions were hilarious and at times it felt as if he’d built his show around them rather than the other way round. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It gave him the perfect opportunity to showcase his strengths.

He’s great, don’t let my oversensitivity suggest otherwise. He is there to entertain, and entertain he does. A self-confessed perfectionist, his act is polished and fluid and he puts his all into it. Go see him now until Saturday May 8th at the Factory Theatre, find him on Facebook or catch up with him at www.anthonysalame.com. You may want to wear a flame-retardant suit …