By Robert Scucci
| Published
If you’re unfamiliar with Reuben Solo’s unhinged brand of stand-up comedy, you may not find yourself guffawing with glee at his latest special, Please Clap. But if you’re in on the joke, or at the very least have been following the Australian comedian’s online presence over the years, you’ll feel right at home with his subversive, postmodern brand of showmanship that’s almost too self-aware to be funny, but not so up its own ass that it loses its sense of humor. Functioning as a one-man show with lots of audience participation and intentionally placed audio drops from his sound technician, James, Reuben Solo: Please Clap is a special that dives deep into the craft of comedy itself, but doesn’t wear out its welcome thanks to Solo’s willingness to lean into the absurdity.
The Show’s Framework
Reuben Solo: Please Clap is framed as a redemption arc for the comedian, who just last year got booed off stage during an America’s Got Talent audition. During the audition, he hit the golden buzzer himself, much to the outrage of Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Simon Cowell before the judges collectively gave him the boot and told him he wasn’t funny. Reviewing the footage of his disastrous performance, Reuben Solo finds himself in a deep depression, and wondering if he should just give up on his dream of being a comedian.
Resolving to vindicate himself, he dresses up in the same outfit he wore on America’s Got Talent and makes his way to the stage where his audience eagerly awaits him. At this point, you’ll find yourself wondering if Reuben Solo’s failed AGT audition was just an elaborate setup for Please Clap, or if he actually bombed in front of the judges and got inspired to produce this special in response to the poor reception he garnered for his stunt.
I still don’t know the answer to this question because the meta-humor in Reuben Solo: Please Clap goes deep.
A Bit Inside Of A Bit Inside Of A Bit
Rife with intentionally placed false starts, jokes so bad that they’re seemingly designed to make the audience uncomfortable when they don’t pay off, and frequent interruptions from James, Reuben Solo: Please Clap is reminiscent of Bo Burnham’s comedy in the sense that every single aspect of the show has to be meticulously rehearsed in order for the light and sound gags to be properly executed. At one point, Solo even answers a call on his cell phone before telling an audience member that the call is actually for them, handing them the phone, and chastising them for taking a phone call during the taping of his special.
After dragging out the bit for longer than any other comedian would ever dare, Solo is eventually given back his phone, only to be told by the same audience member that he can’t use it during a taping, which prompts him to leave and let the man take his place on stage.
This goes on … for a while.
Anti-Comedy Done Right
Mocking the audience (and himself) every step of the way, Reuben Solo’s “crowdwork” in Please Clap is also intentionally uncomfortable because when he finds a solid jumping point for his humor, he resorts to gags like elaborate lie detector tests signified by buzzers, dings, and red and green lights to indicate if audience members are being truthful in their answers to his seemingly innocuous questions. Every time Solo gets back on stage, he berates the cameraman, but only before asking James to assess the bit before either moving onto the next one or desperately trying to give himself a do over.
Constantly worried about whether his microphone stand is messing up the shot, Reuben Solo graciously works through his disaster of a set in Please Clap, which culminates in a final joke based on Einstein’s definition of insanity that takes several passes to resolve because he finds himself stuck in a loop that he doesn’t know how to break, resulting in an existential crisis for all eyes to see until he finally sticks the landing (or not).
Not For Everyone
Specials like Reuben Solo: Please Clap aren’t for everyone because you can’t simply enjoy it as a one-off stand-up special, but rather an extension to the canon and lore that Solo has established for his on-stage persona through his online presence over the years. There are simply too many winks and nods along the way to fully pick up what he’s throwing down if you’re unfamiliar with his work, and he delivers his comedy at such a frantic rate that it’s hard to keep up with if you don’t know what you’re getting into. However, if you’ve been keeping an eye on Reuben Solo, then Please Clap is an absolute treat for fans of anti-comedy because enjoying the joke means being totally in on the joke before the special even starts.
As of this writing, you can watch Reuben Solo: Please Clap for free on YouTube.
