Arts and Culture

The concept of The Marvellous Snake Boy is this: a scientist found a young man in the outback that happened to be raised by snakes. And now, this snake boy has a comedy show in the Adelaide Fringe in order to best learn how to be a human.

It’s absurd, it’s silly, and it’s a lot of fun. The Snake Boy, Alexander Richmond, is a solid character. There’s a lot you can do with a character that’s learning from an audience – and yes, there is audience interaction.

There might be a worry that this show could slip into chaos, but rest assured this actually feels like a tightly designed show. It’s not even an entirely solo comedy show, either – we don’t only see the snake boy, but also the scientist that discovered the snake boy, an absolutely necessary addition of the show, because at the start of the show, the snake boy can’t talk.

Alexander is both sympathetic and unnerving as The Marvellous Snake Boy, and therein lies the charm. His mannerisms add to the weirdness of the show, and his running gags feel alien and manufactured. None of this is bad. They add to the whole feel of the show, which is silly, weird and goofy.

This is a show that does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a rewarding hour of comedy that’ll be enjoyable if you like dumb stuff. I’m excited to see more from Alexander Richmond, because The Marvellous Snake Boy feels like it promises much more from Richmond in the future.

By Mark Tripodi