Stephen K Amos finds beauty in breaking down barriers with comedy

After a decade touring the world, one thing stands out about audiences that gives British comedy legend Stephen K Amos complete and utter joy. READ OUR REVIEW

No offence, but it’s time to ditch our differences and bond though laughter, says Stephen K Amos.

It’s fun watching the fingers of Stephen K. Amos dance across the screen of an iPhone, adjusting and reframing photos taken by his tour manager, whose meddlesome hand is waved away as Amos gets the image just right.

He wants a few more photos, this time with his whole head in the shot.

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Once he’s happy he sends it off to his legions of online fans.

Amos never used to take social media seriously. That’s changed.

“It’s actually a business tool,” he says, ensconced in a chair in a deserted Hamer Hall foyer. “You talk to young, tech-savvy comedians now and it’s all about the socials.”

Stephen K Amos. Picture supplied by Adelaide Fringe Media.

Wrestling with the big topics — sexism, racism, homophobia, mortality — in his latest show, The Story So Far, the comedy of Stephen K Amos has long been fuelled by a philosophy that champions communal laughter, which he believes bonds people by dissolving divisions and differences between them.

“The one thing that gives me complete and utter joy is seeing the diverse group of people who come to my shows,” Amos says.

“I don’t want people in the audience who just think like me. I don’t do jokes just for applause. I want people to laugh and then maybe even think.

“If you’re breaking down barriers or people’s expectations of what you’re going to be saying then you’re doing a good thing.”

Given how target-rich the world is at the moment, Amos is hyper-conscious about giving things his own spin.

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“When you have the current ‘leader of the free world’,” — he emphatically uses air quotes — “putting out tweets on a regular basis, embracing social media to tell us his point of view and to actually have a go at journalists and TV presenters and actors, it’s a weird position [for a comedian] to be in.

“But, also, I’m very aware that we all get that information at the same time, so for me just repeating what’s been said by these people isn’t where the funny is. What I need to do is examine what’s happened and come at it from a different angle.”

Amos also notes how horribly wrong jokes can go in the high-pressure, low-IQ, instant-response world of online commentary.

“We are living in an era [that’s seeing] the rise of fake news, the rise of keyboard warriors and how what somebody wrote as a tweet 10 years ago comes back to haunt them,” Amos says. “People are going ‘I’ve got a right to an opinion!’ losing all context of what was said in the first place.”

Stephen K Amos performs as part of the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Good Friday Appeal in 2016. Picture: Ian Currie

With everybody looking out to be offended, Amos considers context and intent as more valuable now than ever.

“What is offensive these days? What might offend me might not necessarily offend you,” he says.

“I used to do a joke about someone dying and, generally speaking, somebody in my audience would have experienced the same thing, and they could take it the wrong way. But that doesn’t make my truth any less valid.”

Philanthropy is now a big part of his act, following the loss last year of his sister. Becoming aware of the important work done by hospices, Amos began “my mission” to raise money and awareness.

After a successful comedy gig in December, which raised $55,000, Amos decided to take the idea on tour to Australia.

“We arrived in Adelaide, found a hospice called The Mary Potter Foundation and, day one, we started raising money for them,” Amos says.

“But at the end of that day, with our buckets in our hands, we were informed that was quite illegal.”

Amos and his crew sorted out the required paperwork and permits, so now he collects money for local hospices everywhere he plays.

“This was meant to be under the radar, to be perfectly honest,” Amos admits.

“But having spoken to the hospices, they were very, very keen [on] having a comedian with a bit of a voice champion the cause, and I kind of got that, because it’s not about me trying to ‘give back’, or whatever. I seriously wanted to do it under the radar.”

After about a decade touring the world, Amos is thinking of stepping away from stand-up to develop some TV ideas, including a talk show and a documentary (already filmed) that took Amos from the Swiss Alps to the Pope.

“There’s lots of things bubbling under the surface,” he says.

“Sometimes it’s good to take your foot off the gas, regenerate and look at other projects.

“I’m probably going to go do the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then restock and think.”

OUR REVIEW OF STEPHEN K AMOS, THE STORY SO FAR …

Rating: ★★★½

Reviewer: Daniel Ziffer

Repeat guest Stephen K Amos returns, looking back at his decade of visits and staking a new claim on the hearts of Melbourne comedy fans.

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The veteran Brit has been a frequent flyer, and spends this year’s show looking back at his Australian adventures.

Deftly playing with the audience, laying traps along the way, Amos rolls through a breezy hour of tales.

Careening from a childhood spent with six siblings to observations about our nation, he never falters from his confident delivery of laughs.

A surprisingly emotional conclusion to the show comes alongside hints that this might be his last trip to the comedy festival.

Based on the rapturous reaction from the sold-out theatre, that’s unlikely.

Stephen K Amos, The Story So Far …, until April 7, Athenaeum Theatre.