Aurelia St Clair & Rhi Down – Ferocious

Rhi Down and Aurelia St Clair have comedic voices as unique as they are complementary. The former is a talkative and wicked story slinger, while the latter is a proficient master of calculated deadpan. Put them together, and Ferocious immediately lives up to its name.

Down is first to grace the stage for the night, with the comic diving headfirst into some hilariously sordid subject matter. The stand-up doesn’t let her audience dip their toes in the water, instead she shoves them into the depths of her comedic mind. From the “basic bitch” pandemic to which she admits she has succumbed, to some devilishly dark quips on unwanted pregnancy, Down is a powerhouse of line-riding comedy. Even when some punters squirm as she goes too far for their tastes, Down unapologetically ups the ante and forces her crowd to see the funny in what she does.

Closing out the proceedings is St Clair, whose monotone delivery brilliantly belies her sunny disposition. While some may find her style too singular for a full half-hour of comedy, the stand-up knows her voice and plays to it with the professional vigour of a seasoned performer. Race, culture and stereotypes are all on the table tonight, with St Clair ripping into white society and its unhealthy obsession with putting people like her into boxes. The comic knows who she is, and tailors her comedy to her personality with ease, winning over everyone in the room in no time.

Ferocious showcases two of the strongest local voices in comedy. It’s a chance not just for Down and St Clair to hone their skills, but for audiences to lay claim to two rising stars of the moment. This will surely end up being one of those rare opportunities for punters to get in early and be able to one day proclaim, “I knew them when…”