Although Wild West appears to be a loose theme in Amelia Hamilton’s Moral Support, like every Chekhov’s gun that she shows to us over the course of the hour, it doesn’t fail to pay off spectacularly. There is just something inherently satisfying in following Hamilton’s breadcrumbs to their conclusion, proving that if tricky second hours are the norm, Hamilton is most definitely the exception to the rule.
Within this hour, Hamilton wades into the debate on morality, fully exploring the nuances, grey areas of pertinent moral issues such as the stigmatisation of mental health, grave robbing and the application of socialist ideology to men’s fashion. Each argument is presented in a self-contained segment, bookended by a rap whose purpose is often to develop and compound a gag that has been previously introduced. Hamilton steadily sets out her thesis, innocuously littering her hour with clues, ideas that seem funny but otherwise inconsequential in the abstract until they aren’t, a technique that is paralleled in Moral Support’s structure; a gradual build-up of Hamilton’s central argument almost grants us permission to buy-in with her on the small things, gradually building up the perceived severity or controversy of her material until a safe space is created for the vulnerability and nuanced messaging that Hamilton aims to express.
There are a handful of comedic techniques that Hamilton relies on to build her material, but in doing so, she specialises and executes them flawlessly. Hamilton is a mastery of playing with and twisting our expectations of the direction of her material, visibly taking immense joy in tricking and making us laugh in this way. Even when it becomes apparent that this technique is one of the building blocks of Hamilton’s material, it still catches us out every time. Her sense of rhythm and beat (a necessity considering her musical comedy medium) means that she has impeccable comedic timing, which she once again uses to catch us out and, in her attempts to sneak a gag past us, often resulting in a delayed laugh as we catch up with the wit of the joke. Even when Hamilton extends herself to deliver a punchline that is relatively risky, her commitment to the cleverness of the joke’s mechanics is often enough to consistently result in a laugh of some degree.
There is the odd playful combativeness as Hamilton involves us in the material, almost debating her interpretation of the Wild West of Morality with us. Hamilton possesses an innate sense of flair and showmanship as is evidenced in her very high-energy and engaging performance, consistently maintaining a lively, concert-like atmosphere that allows her to seamlessly transition between her prepared stand-up and rap musical comedy. Hamilton does not go to the extreme of playing devil’s advocate, but there is a certain ironic, tongue-in-cheek flourish to her comedy that naturally lends itself to her observational style. At times a very clever turn of phrase or pun is accompanied by a nudge, wink and sense of pride as if Hamilton is granting us permission to be in on the joke with her.
Hamilton is on the precipice of something exciting, and it is truly an honour to witness a comedy star in the making, after her lyrical and comedic genius cannot be denied. ‘Must see’ does not begin to encompass the inherent comedic and entertainment value of Moral Support.
Amelia Hamilton’s Moral Support can be seen at the Baby Grand in Pleasance Courtyard – FINAL DAY TODAY! Tickets here! Follow her for more comedy on Instagram.
