Adelaide born comedian Amos Gill goes apocalyptic in his show Ruins, chronicling a society in decline in the midst of social media, climate change and Coronavirus. Gill suggests we could learn a thing or two from the ancient Greeks, making for a smart, well-structured discussion – unexpected in a Friday night comedy gig.

The Rhino Room audience was predominantly male and it is clear Gill has a target audience; an early jab about AFLW had some squirming in their seats. What followed, however, was clever piece and Gill had definitely done his homework; as a self-confessed history nerd, Gill reeled off fact after fact in his 60 minute show.

Ruins is completely and utterly relatable – it’s like Gill read our minds! All the stuff we were already worried about seem less daunting, however, when Gill infuses them with a comic spin. He moves seamlessly from topic to topic building his case for the last days.

Ruins finishes with Gill previewing his Fringe show in 2040 – not sidesplittingly funny, but definitely clever and not so unfathomable.

Throughout the show, there were definitely laugh-out-loud moments, and Gill’s critiques of our crazy millennial ways provided for some light-hearted introspection. Even though Gill’s more extended rant against AFLW later in the piece seemed to fall flat, the rest of his show was very much on the mark; perhaps Gill is more of a feminist than we first thought.

It is clear why he has experienced success both at home and overseas; there’s a lot to love about this Adelaide boy and Ruins is his smartest piece yet.

4 stars

By Rachel Gould

Amos Gill’s Ruins is playing at Rhino Room until March 13th. Tickets can be purchased here at