Joel Salom’s Gadgets – The Right Tools For The Job

Joel Salom’s Gadgets – The Right Tools For The Job
Comedy show that has toured 5 continents comes to Wellington

“The irrepressible Joel Salom is an outstanding all-round comic, whether as a skillfully inept acrobat or artfully off-colour juggler … popping ping pong balls out of his mouth, flinging clubs impossibly fast … playing electronic percussion with bounced balls and executing an hilarious reversal on the old dropped-pants shtick. He’s also the genius behind the show’s other stand-up comic, a blithely satiric little robot dog named Erik”.

Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle 2007

Gadgets is an eccentric yet robust work able to “wow” an audience on many levels. It is a music concert, a comedy, a circus show and a theatrical event featuring unique technology and a smart-alec robot dog.

Devised by former Circus Oz funny man Joel Salom, Gadgets is an exciting and demented rollercoaster ride through circus, technology and live music. Musicians Jim Dunlop and Marko Simec perform a bent mix of pop, classical, death metal and jazz fused with gypsy swing sparking moments of hilarious improvisation and audience participation.

Special guest, Erik the Dog, is a sharp, irreverent, smooth-talking, remote-controlled tin terrier with attitude; he brings the audience to their paws with his antics. Joel and Erik have performed at festivals on all five continents.

“Erik had the cynics in stitches, no bones about it.”
Sun Herald

The Company Joel Salom is a diversely experienced and charismatic performer who is simultaneously a comic, rapper, juggler, gadget man and MC Extraordinaire. Joel’s alter ego Erik the Dog a 2- foot-tall, fast talking, arse sniffing phenomenon was a regular on O’Loughlin on Saturday Night (ABC TV).

Joel has developed ideas combining music and juggling including JAMIDI, which is a juggling activated musical instrument with a digital interface. JAMIDI is a unique juggling system that triggers samples of beats, bass lines and laser animations which Joel continues to refine.

Joel’s talents come to life with a musical rollercoaster from Jim Dunlop and Marko Simec.

Jim has toured the world with Circus Oz for the last 4 years honing his talents of blending character comedy and music. He has performed with an exciting mix of theatrical bands, mainly in the world of cabaret and has produced his own big musical acts, including Butt Funky.

Marko Simec is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and performer. Marko has toured with diverse companies from Circus Monoxide and Plasticien Volante (France) to performing with live bands Wicked Beat Sound System notorious gypsy punk jazz band Waiting for Guinness. He regularly collaborates with film and theatre companies and the advertising sector

Since 2006, the company has performed seasons at the Hoopla Festival (Sydney), the Glen Street Theatre (Sydney), Woodford Folk Festival and the Taranaki Arts Festival (New Zealand). In 2008 the company embarked on an epic 4 month, nationwide tour supported by Playing Australia and have taken Gadgets internationally to the Keo-Chang International Theatre Festival (Korea), Festival O Gesto Orelhudo and Sai Pra Rua (Portugal), Karavaan, Cheese Market and Venlo Veerasst Festivals (Holland), Kulturufer Festival, Friedrichshafen (Germany) and La Plage des Six Pompes (Switzerland).

Joel Salom’s Gadgets
Dates: 11-15 MAY
Times: 7pm Tue-Sat (all ages) and 9pm Thu-Fri (Adults Only).
Prices: $35 to $25.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at (04) 801 6946 or in person at Downstage’s box office. For up-to-date information visit www.downstage.co.nz Downstage is proudly sponsored by BNZ.

ENDS

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