Jon Bennett: Playing With Men

It's tricky to discuss the issues that Jon raises in a way that makes you laugh, makes you think, and feels cathartic for all the dudes who were trained to feel like their feelings were wrong - while still holding us accountable... But he manages to do all three.

Jon is a master.

GO SEE IT!

The first and last time I attended a Jon Bennett show was a few years ago, on the very tiny Boxer Bar rooftop patio, where we played an unhinged Australian board game and offered whiskey shots. The audience was tiny and dead. I had the time of my life.

All this to say that I’m not familiar with his storytelling work. I’d already exceeded my daily quota for storytelling shows today, so I figured I’d might as well add this one on and lock in.

This show is chaotic and hilarious. I couldn’t predict where the stories would go. Very little is told linearly, which I just about always enjoy in a storytelling show as long as it all connects back, which it does. The man is hilarious. After being on site for over 14 hours, I wasn’t expecting to even have the energy to laugh as much as I did. Even so, there is an concerning edge to a few of the stories that gave me pause, and without spoiling it, this does get addressed at the end.

The turn towards the more serious, didactic portion of the show is I think both necessary and clumsy. I don’t want to go as far as to say it is unearned, but I do think there needs to be a smoother transition to get there, and I wish it could be articulated in a more elegant way. I am glad we got there at all, though, as indeed the stories prior were disquieting beneath the humor and I’d started to worry that the artist just didn’t see it.

This is clearly a very personal show for the artist and I commend him for his vulnerability, admitting things to an audience that most people can’t even admit to themselves. He mentioned that it’s new and still being worked on. I’d like to see this again once it’s evolved a bit more.

Touching, funny and a great time. Great story teller.

Very funny! Jon Bennett goes a thousand miles an hour and keeps the audience in stitches pretty much throughout.

It was a bit disconcerting, then, when he got super dark and drove home a point about toxic masculinity and sexual violence. It just kinda came out of nowhere. Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate comedy that has a dark side (I.e. Hannah Gadsby), but I need to be brought there. This kinda came out of nowhere so it was a bit jolting.

I 100% agree with everything Bennett was saying. It just felt like he needed to establish his cred to say it first.

Still, well worth seeing, not only for the laughs, of which there were plenty even after the curtain call, but also for the message.

I love Jon Bennett and I have been seeing his shows every year at the Fringe for over a decade. Last year he couldn’t come at the last minute because he was trapped in the USA so I was very happy that he was back again this year with a new show! As always, he was completely hilarious, quite crass, and there was plenty of cringe-worthy content. His accompanying slides make the show… However, in the special way that he always does, somehow everything ended up with a heartwarming sentiment, meaningful thoughts, and something important to think about. I’d never miss him!

Jon Bennett is back at the Fringe with “Playing With Men”: a poignant, heartfelt, yet hilarious call to action that everyone should experience.

Clad in his favorite footie uniform, Bennett frenetically recounts sordid tales about growing up with fellow footballers in the Australian Outback, where punching the other guy when you're down a few goals is not only encouraged, but expected. Bodily fluids, curse-laden chants, and underage drinking set the hypermasculine stage that so many of us grew up taking for granted.

What makes this show incredibly special is Bennett's ability to take us on a journey that starts with “boys will be boys" antics, but culminates in a critically important message about loss, vulnerability, and what it really means to be a man. You may feel some discomfort along the way, but that's the whole point. After all, changing the narrative isn't an easy task, but if you’re about to man up Bennett's way, then it's worth every single second.

A Hilarious Reckoning with Masculinity on the Footy Field

“I hate this fucking show”, Australian comedian Jon Bennett proclaims over and over again in his brand new, dramedy one-man production, Playing With Men. It’s clear to see why, as throughout the performance’s runtime, Bennett struggles to wrap his head around what makes a “real” man using his teenage years in footy as points to reflect upon. With witty humour and quick storytelling, Bennett takes us through tales of crazy adolescent parties, a threesome, poetry-writing, and moving in and out of the AFL’s A-League. Presented to us in a silly slideshow complete with a projector, the stories flow from one to another seamlessly. This is especially due to Bennett’s very quick and entertaining delivery.

All in all, the show explores themes of accountability and male emotional vulnerability; challenging the question of “what if we were just brought up this way?”. While Jon Bennett: Playing With Men got a lot of laughs out of its audience, the emotional grip was what left a mark (aside from getting to hear Bennett’s preteen poetry).