Sophie Ricketts reviews The Tape Face Show, presented as part of the World Buskers Festival, at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Thursday 23 January 2025.
The prodigal son has returned! From the stages of New Zealand, to stages around the world (including the glitz and glamour of America’s Got Talent and Las Vegas), it is a welcome return for local lad Sam Wills (aka Tape Face) to headline this year’s edition of the World Buskers Festival.
It’s been exactly seven years since I last saw him when he performed in the Buskers Festival of 2018. We’ve all gotten older, but his humour remains ageless and he is an absolute treat to watch as he brings his best to the stage of the Isaac Theatre Royal in front of a capacity crowd. He has plenty of splendid new tricks up his sleeve (as well as some old favourites). His delightfully silly routines are expertly delivered with plenty of help from unsuspecting, hand-plucked audience members, and a very slick soundtrack keeps it all moving at a fantastic pace. He has a way of making even the most jaded of us regress into giggles as he creates scenarios and schtick with wide-eyed wonder, raised eyebrows, and his assortment of household items. This is 90 minutes of pure escapism, incredibly wholesome humour and theatrics with heaps of heart. It was heaven.
Tape Face represents a refreshingly contemporary spin on some of the oldest tricks in the book. Mime is not often thought of as a cutting edge art form, but his performance style truly transcends language, cultural barriers, and age, and all without saying a word! He rides a see-saw from the highs of childlike wonder to the depths of adult cynicism and we were relishing every tip of that scale. It was encouraging to see a few children in the audience, my own companion included.
There are still some tickets available for his remaining performance, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get snapped up and it is another full house. To avoid disappointment, and to see a clown at the top of their game in a modern setting, I highly encourage you to book right now. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that the grand finale of the show is such a joyous, mesmerising and grin-inducing climax that you’ll positively bounce through the foyer on your way out the door.
The Tape Face Show plays until Friday 24 January, 2025.
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