Comedy
by Laughing Horse Comedy & Laughing Panda Productions & Nik Coppin
Circus Theatre
26th of January
by Justine Spencer

What’s better than comedians taking the piss out of themselves? Pommy comedians taking the piss out of their whiney counterparts; not just one English comedian, but five.

Over the next two nights, four of the following comedians: Matt Price, Matthew Giffen, Sameena Zehra, James Dowdeswell, Vladimir McTavish, Alexis Dubas and Micky D will be performing alongside their MC Nik Coppin, with each night’s entertainment different from the last. If you’re intrigued to see who may be performing the night you’re attending, Laughing Horse Comedy lists the comedians on their site.

Considering that opening night clashed with the Australia Day Skyshow, the Circus Theatre wasn’t far from full. Coppin opened the show with enthusiasm that was maintained throughout the hour, despite bouncing from comedian to comedian every fifteen minutes.

Matthew Giffen, a Columbian/Irish comedian who jokingly describes himself as an ‘Islamic hipster’ was first up, performing with such spirit I could barely make out what he was saying. While I struggled at times to follow, I realised the poor bloke not only had to entertain us, but entertain us over the deafening foreshore fireworks. Giffen took this interruption in his stride, incorporating the blasts into his performance by continuing the running joke that his ‘terrorists friends’ were bombing the city. Prior to the show I was concerned about the Skyshow interfering, but Giffen not only entertained alongside it, he used it as a tool to send the theatre into hysterics.

James Dowdeswell is used to having his identity mistaken. He isn’t the UK’s version of Rusty Gates from Arrow Computers, nor is he the next Stephen Hawking; he’s just an ordinary guy, with a lazy left eye, who, like the rest of us in the Circus Theatre, finds smug ten year olds damn annoying. The shiftiness and laziness of today’s youth is a reoccurring (and relatable) theme, that left everyone closing their eyes and nodding ‘amen’. Okay, not really. But we were in stitches from laughing. Dowdeswell also highlighted the importance of giving up your precious life support (aka your iPhone) over your wallet if you happen to be mugged. If you’re still a student or you earn a low-income, you’ll find Dowdeswell’s life lessons most valuable.

The next comedian to enter is the wittiest and sassiest lady I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Move over Kitty Flanagan, there’s fresh meat about to knock you out of first place on my list of favourite comedians. Sameena Zehra opened up her performance by announcing that she’s been planning her husband’s funeral. She also exposed her plan to cull all the assholes in the world (fingers crossed this includes Kim Kardashian) and used the word ‘nincompoop’ at least once.

The last performer was Matt Price who, like the comedians before him, takes the piss out of the stereotypes usually associated with him. While the jokes at his expense are funny, his recount of performing at psychiatric hospital Broadmoor is the real money maker. A comedian performing for a room full of mentally unstable patients and a cannibal, what could possibly go wrong? Price’s hilarious and possibly life threatening experience at Broadmoor was an amusing way to close the show.

If the other comedy shows at Fringe are as funny as Nik Coppin and his crew, I’m sure I’ll end up with rock hard abs by the end of the festival from laughing too hard.

Aaaaaaaargh! It’s the best of Fringe Comedy from the UK is showing at the Circus Theatre until 28 January 2015.

For ticketing details, click here.

For details to see Matthew Giffen, click here.

For details to see James Dowdeswell, click here.

For details to see Matt Price, click here.

For details to see another Laughing Horse Comedy & Laughing Panda Productions, click here.