Review of Ali Woods: At the Moment, Fringe 2024

Birdy made it along to The Underbelly’s Jersey room in enough time to ensure not being late (that’s not good for this show – you’ll be judged) to see standup comic Ali Woods.

I like living in the moment; due to a series of personal events over the past few years, the words ‘live for now’ have become a strong influence in my life. Because you might not get a later.

So, although I didn’t fully appreciate the name of the show until I was watching it, I do appreciate the sentiment that came through from Ali Woods‘ show At The Moment.

I was probably living ‘in the moment’ when I decided to see this show, as I hadn’t heard of Woods before booking, but when I was offered a press ticket, it seemed like it might be up my street.

Vibe

It’s a standup show, and it starts quite promisingly with Ali talking about his unusually small balls as a 17-year-old, and his mum taking him to the hospital due to him being a ‘late developer’.

The show then goes on to focus on Ali’s relationship, what went right, how it went wrong, and how the comedian is basically dissecting it each night to a group of strangers as a means of ‘therapy’.

I’m not convinced this is the healthiest way for Mr Woods to do this, and the results could go either way for him, but he’s right about one thing; this way, he gets paid to get all those feelings out there.

The show itself

Ali Woods has a decent stage presence, although I was slightly concerned when he put too much emphasis on who in the audience was laughing and who was not, he did manage to get away from that after a while.

It turns out puberty was not the only thing Woods was late with, in terms of things like being in love and having a serious relationship. Or realising the truth about office jobs being (mainly) absolutely trash and that you’re basically paid to pretend you matter, and that you enjoy being there.

My favourite bit of the show, actually, was Woods removing his headset, taking all of that frustration, and screaming. I felt that. Really, I felt all of that (but I won’t bore you with the details).

I also enjoyed feeling validated about how my WhatsApp displays the two blue ticks, and taking accountability for myself. It’s nice to feel seen as a responsible adult – it doesn’t happen often!

Woods is at times charming, vulnerable, and honest, all whilst managing to be funny. The subject matter wasn’t necessarily my favourite, but it all feels very real, and very human; it takes guts to bare your soul like that to strangers every night. So, good on you, Ali!

Overall

I enjoyed Ali Woods: At the Moment, and if especially if you’ve had breakup trauma or have realised that living in the moment is important, this show is very relatable – and funny. The show does end on a positive, hopeful note, and that’s all any of us can ask for. Appreciated.