Adelaide Fringe review by Susannah Marks, 28 February 2019

We had been wandering through the Garden of Unearthly Delights soaking up the evening atmosphere and wondering about catching a late night show at the Adelaide Fringe Festival when we bumped into a mum I’d met at playgroup, along with her husband and their mates. They were all lining up to see a show called Abandoman – Pirate Radio, which ‘playgroup mum’ said was supposed to be very good.

Curious about the concept of an Irish hip-hop singing comedian pirate radio show, I jumped at the opportunity to review Abandoman – Pirate Radio as a potential date night Fringe pick.

What is Abandoman – Pirate Radio?

Abandoman aka Rob Broderick is an Irish freestyle rapper/stand-up comedian who has been entertaining audiences around the world with his clever and unique comedic style.

Drawing on snippets of information gathered from the audience (such as names, or personal anecdotes), and his lightning fast improvisation skills, Abandoman takes you on a musical journey.

His skill at creating funny banter, perfect rhyme and hip-hop tunes from seemingly mundane information from the crowd leaves you feeling like he’s a bit of a musical magician. If you like Kiwi duo Flight of the Conchords then I think you’ll probably enjoy this show.

Audience participation is a big part of the formula. Probably the best way to sum up how I felt during the show was equal parts fear and amusement. With almost front row seats the threat of being called up onto stage at any given moment (and made to dance or sing or be otherwise involved in some hip-hop themed activity) was very real. And it filled me with dread.

Without going into too much detail about what the elements of audience participation entailed I will say that there were plenty of them, and they certainly added to the humour value of the show. There’s no denying there’s something really entertaining about watching other people feeling embarrassed on stage.

Time flew and before I knew it the show was over. We were entertained and we’d had quite a few laughs, and I had escaped unscathed.

Rob Broderick aka Abandoman official trailer

Tips for enjoying Abandoman

If the thought of audience participation stresses you out perhaps don’t sit in the front row. However if you do happen to be picked from the crowd then relax and go with the flow. Everyone up on stage seemed to be enjoying being part of the process.

We think it would be a fun show to go to with a big group eg your mothers’ group, or a group of school parents as a class outing.

Abandoman plays at the Corona Tent in the Garden of Unearthly Delights until 17 March 2019.

CLICK HERE for info