Athenaeum Theatre
Sunday, March 15
Reviewed by Marian Poole
A good sized crowd at the New Athenaeum Theatre listened to softly spoken comedian Ben Miller with quiet amusement.
As his promotion tells us Ben Miller is a New York based volcanologist, entomologist and historian.
He is also a stand up comedian. Being a nerd can be funny.
If I go swimming in a lava flow should I wear my goggles? Would fins be useful? How many tabs do you have open on your phone? What happens when a comedian walks into a volcano? — well its erupts of course. And other really important questions.
The audience learnt about whether Pluto is a planet, the number of times the noise of Krakatoa erupting travelled around the world, that the moon has a face like an adolescent and that the mosquito fish is a risk to damselflies in distress.
Because he is a nerd, Ben has a PowerPoint display and a three column list of references.
His delivery proves his point that what kills you determines just how strong you were, and if you want butter put a cow in a tornado.
The science presentation kept up the momentum and as every speaker knows an occasional joke keeps the students awake.
Being a stand up comedian is a real art. It takes timing, the creation of suspense, a slow lead to a punch line, a degree of story telling and being able to read the audience.
Ben Miller knows when to move on quickly when a joke is not going to work. Volcanoes and insects are unlikely subjects.
A solid diet of peanut butter offers a welcome respite from quips on marmite sandwiches.
While a nerd can be a comedian, a course in stand-up would produce a comedian who is also a nerd.
