A critic sent to review a Brendon Burns gig wrote that the Australian comic was 'charming, good-looking, energetic but not funny'. Burns responded quickly by removing the last three words, then putting the quote at the top of all his publicity material.
Given Burns's public defiance of the critics, particularly during his much-derided co-presenting stint on The 11 O'Clock Show, his aggressive style comes as no surprise. He'd first started to gain attention over here with his 1996 solo turn at the Edinburgh Festival, returning the following year with Ed Byrne in a comic play called The Act, then enjoying a successful run with his Brendon Burns Knows Heaps show.
There's no holds barred in his observations about sex, racism and vegans and, although his material isn't always as funny as he thinks it is, the freshness and frankness take Burns a long way towards winning over his audience.
Perth-born Burns encapsulates his act with the following one-liner: 'I'm one of those comics who may not be funny all the time but you continue to watch in case I set myself on fire.' Critics might prefer to gain revenge by shortening the quote to 'may not be funny,' but it wouldn't do him justice.
