NOTE: This review will not contain spoilers.

Clock out early, people, it’s clown time.

There’s a very… anticipatory vibe upon entrance into the Stage at BATS Theatre. Props of varying style are strewn about, some under covers, others in plain sight. A lone clown sits atop the open door as if suspended by the darkness. A laptop sits unmanned on a table. You get the feeling that anything can happen tonight.

That’s the energy that Hardly Workin’ by Ruff as Gutz maintains throughout the entire show.

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin is the main focus of the evening; a clown who flits from game to game, keeping the audience entertained with literally every step they make. The show is structured as almost an anthology of workplace hijinx which serve as Sean’s comical interpretation of what each job entails at its core. It’s not so much a critique of these jobs as it is an absurdist take on how Sean perceives them.

Every bit has been crafted to a perfectly balanced degree, they always feel well-structured enough for the audience to immediately recognise what’s going on, but not so rigid that Sean isn’t able to play off their audience. It’s in this middle ground where the best play happens.

They are constantly watching the audience as intently as the audience is watching them. Anything the audience responds well to is double-downed upon, and anything that gets a more tepid reception is quickly cast into the ether of a million other bits that are being filtered through live on stage. Sean holds such a keen eye for what makes the audience laugh, and masterfully plays us for the laughing puppets we are.

And we’re happy to be along for the ride. Any time audience particpation is required, Sean clearly sets out any expectations they should have and what they’re about to get into, whether it’s an impromptu eulogy or a medical procedure. Audience members are never made to feel humiliated, nor caught in the depths. Despite some of the insane games, I always felt safe in the way Sean induced the audience’s participation. They’re doing their job right.

Speaking of jobs, the games are generally themed around ‘normal’ 9-to-5s, but the framing device is a little more subtle than, say, a sketch show’s theming. After a while it becomes clear that Sean’s aim here is to find delight and joy within the mundanity of ‘basic’ life. Larger-than-life characters still find ways to ground themselves emotionally, to the extent that they’re all believable despite their clinical insanity. There is so much joy in the smaller aspects of our jobs, no matter what they may be, and this show directs us to find that joy and let it flourish. It’s wonderful to watch and experience.

In addition to the clown themself, we have Will “Billsy” Evans, who for most of the show, sits off to the side playing expertly timed sound effects to complement Sean’s antics. They even get a shining moment all to themself in the break, where they sing a song that I found unbelievably relatable as a guy who has been known to over-commit way too early.

Up in the booth, we have Campbell Wright who delights and amazes at the variety of lighting states that are on display. One particularly classic bit of clowning prompts a series of varying cues which rely on frame-perfect execution, with a view of the audience’s hands. Everything feels so seamless, that you’d believe it was controlled by a remote.

Hardly Workin’ is an exciting new collection of works that had me cackling with laughter from start to finish. Sean is a performer who listens closely to what their audience wants, and delivers it as many times as we’ll accept it. It’s fantastic clowning, perfectly tailored to the crowd that knows what it wants. And it wants to see more of this sort of thing.

I rate it 16 wheels out of 16.

Hardly Workin’ is running from the 31st October to the 2nd of November at BATS Theatre. Tickets available from the BATS Theatre website.

Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show.
Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.

Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though.