Nick Offerman Is NOT Ron Swanson & His Stand-up Show Isn’t For Everyone

Sarcasm forms the foundation of a Nick Offerman stand-up show, and it was so thick, you’d struggle to cut it with a knife.

While his political preaching came across like a scene from a Pawnee City Council meeting at times, the US actor, as he sung, is "not Ron Swanson", the breakfast loving, no-nonsense handyman from Parks & Recreation we've all come to love. Perhaps it's in his perfect execution of the bacon-loving, staunch Libertarian on the small screen that sees some fans unable to separate the actor from his character.

Offerman's humour was beyond dry and as he paced back and forth reading notes about the rapid decline of society, it wasn't clear if we were at a comedy gig or a one-man show off-Broadway; not something all Parks & Rec fans would be able to digest with ease.

• Read more: Who Makes Nick Offerman 'A Giggling Mess'? Megan Mullally, Of Course

That's not to say Parks & Rec fans won't enjoy it but two hours of All Rise was a lot to process, as evident by the surprising lack of laughter across the night; more woos than lols were offered up. The silences following some enraged rants were more humorous than what had just been said, but going from Offerman’s response, it seemed like that was partly what he was aiming for.

The most engaging times of the show came when Offerman did away with the notes he was reading from (after a while they felt like a wall between him and the audience) and told stories about growing up, going to jail and his time on Parks & Rec and how it changed his life, before playing 5000 Candles In The Wind, the track taken from the hit show.

The rest of the evening featured long-winded rants punctuated with songs that almost felt more folk-like than humorous, even if he did manage to rhyme Kardashian with Pokémon.

If you’re a woodwork enthusiast and/or diehard Offerman fan who can appreciate the nuances of his mannerisms and delivery, then you’ll probably get a lot out of this “brand of medicine”.