It takes a brave performer to hand their show over to an audience and let them steer the direction of the production. But that's precisely what Jeromaia Detto does with When I Grow Up... . A show that, as its title suggests, relies on audience members to write down what they wanted to be when they grew up. Jeromaia then endeavours to find the humour in all the suggestions written down. As I discovered on Tuesday night, some suggestions hit, some missed, and a couple brought tears to my eyes from laughter.

The premise is simple, yet the crowd is quite shy. It doesn't seem like anyone wants to approach the small table, with the spotlight shining brightly upon it, to write down a When I Grow Up... suggestion. Seedoeatreview gets the ball rolling by standing up and scribbling something on the piece of paper provided, and soon people follow. From that moment on, it's left to Jeromaia to find comedy gold from the ten suggestions and 200 props and clothing pieces he's brought on stage. It's a slow, polite-laughter-filled start. Not helped by my straight-laced response of wanting to 'work in a video store.' I wasn't aware we could submit wacky responses (that's why I leave the comedy to the experts). Opera singer, stripper, magician and my awful video store worker suggestion were just a few of the opening acts that garnered a few laughs but nothing substantial. It wasn't until halfway through the show that Jeromaia AND the audience finally hit their stride. It almost seemed as if audience members felt self-conscious, and it took a while for them to get silly and allow themselves to become children once again. Detto made sure nearly all members of the crowd participated in his shenanigans, and the potential of what this show could become was well and truly on display in the last half hour. The absolute highlight for me was watching him act out an English cricket team victory. We had crowd commentators, English supporters, a bowler and batter, and even a USA barracker made a bizarre appearance. Jeromaia is at his best when the crowd is fully involved in the joke, and this was improv comedy at its finest. 

So much of When I Grow Up... relies on the audience that I recommend watching it two or three times to fully appreciate the clowning and comedic genius behind the concept. I know I'll do my best to return, not only to atone for my laughter-anemic suggestion but also to see how the show and Jeromaia perform with a more electric audience.

**** FOUR STARS