Credit to the Fringe creators: calling a TAFE lecture theatre a “stadium” does make the approaching semester more bearable, possibly even awesome; gives it some kick-ass KA-POW. However, I doubt my future experiences in lecture theatres will be as hilarious as the spectacle I witnessed tonight.

When I saw Luke Ryan’s comedy posted in the Fringe Guide over a month ago, I was curious to see how someone would tackle the topic of cancer in a comedy. In 2012 there were three people in my life simultaneously battling cancer, and while they’ve won their fight, I can’t imagine any of them using their unfortunate genetic whoopsie as the basis of a joke, let alone a whole show.

That’s what Luke Ryan does.

He begins with his nurse mother and doctor father diagnosing him with laziness, before it was discovered he had a substantial growth behind he left knee. Initially Luke thought battling cancer was going to be a piece of cake; an eleven year old spending a whole year at home playing Nintendo 64. It was going to be awesome. But unfortunately, he was wrong, and informed us of gruelling side effects of chemo and radiotherapy in the 90s.

Fast forward eleven years later, and Luke faces the same obstacle, with the tumour now in his lung. Instead of using the Nintendo 64 as his solace, he uses the outgoing life of a 22 year old to get through. After an awkward sperm sample and the possibility of an amputated arm, Luke beats cancer a second time and celebrates with a one night stand, which leads to a very problematic toilet incident. Take the worst toilet story you’ve ever heard and times it by ten. That’s how bad Luke’s toilet incident was. What a way to celebrate being cancer free.

While the topic might seem morbid, I can assure you, Ryan does a complete 180 with it. Still not convinced? He plays a video of a four year old being chased by cute puppies, how much happier could it get?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Chemo is running until Saturday 21st February. Check it out in the Fringe Guide here.

Mesmerising. If I was restricted to one word to describe Fright or Flight, that’d be it. On occasions I was so captivated, I neglected my job to applaud.

I never realised how compelling it is to see acrobatics live. I’ve seen the body do miraculous manoeuvres on television talent shows. But seeing it in the flesh is a whole new level of surreality.

Not only did 3 is a Crowd provide a range of fascinating acts, they performed them with such charm and self-control it was hard to believe the female trio were human. Even their awkward chicken walk was a flawless imitation. Their show was an eye opener on what incredible things your body can achieve with determination and practice.

The only let down was in between their mind-blowing acts. Separating their main acts of flips around a hanging hoop, rolling down a suspended rope and using glass bottles as a tight rope, the trio performed silly skits based around bird interpretations. They’re not lying when they describe their show as absurd; transferring from mesmerising body movements and music to dressing up as squawking birds is a mood killer, but give it five or so minutes and they return to captivating body twists and twirls.

Fright or Flight as given me the acrobatic circus bug – I could watch them flip and spin around a hoop for hours and still be in total awe. How they do it so effortlessly – while also wearing latex leggings and feathers – is beyond me.

Fright or Flight runs until Sunday 15th of February. Check them out in the Fringe Guide here.

In the compact crescent of the DeLuxe, I witnessed a rare comical species: the politically correct comedian. Not only was Bart Freebairn promoting political correctness in his show, he made it humorous without targeting stereotypes or discriminating against races, religions or genders.

I bet you’re left thinking, “What the hell does his show involve then?”

Freebairn explains at the end of his show that he tries to vary each performance by improvising and joking about the first thing that enters his brain. He could talk about Perth’s split personality or sporting teams named after animals or even loose units on pingers. The possibilities are endless, but the one thing you won’t find at Freebairn’s show is audience participation. He’s quickly caught on that involvement in shows isn’t the forte of Perth audiences.

If you’re lucky, Freebairn might even chat about God’s greatest creation:
ice cream (hence the title Double Happiness). Over the years Freebairn has observed that ice cream has become a necessity for adults, and as a result, has lost the magical appeal that mesmerized us as kids. We simply can’t have plain old vanilla anymore. As adults we need something fancier, something like “Vanilla Bean”. No, wait – “Madagascan Vanilla Bean”. The more adjectives the name has, the fancier it’s viewed (just look at the Ben & Jerry’s flavours).

Hopefully Freebairn expresses his philosophy on fitness as well if you see his show. It’s not even humorous, it’s honestly just a really good way to look at life. Why worry about how unfit and out of shape you are? Why waste money on equipment and trainers that strengthen you body muscles when it’s you mental strength that gets you through life? Your mind has made it this far in life, and Freebairn believes that’s worth celebrating.

It was a delight watching an entertainer thoroughly enjoying their practice -  if he had his way he wouldn’t have stopped performing. For him, comedy’s not only an opportunity to amuse audiences but also a chance to communicate positive messages and perspectives in an engaging atmosphere.

Bart Freebairn – Double Happiness is running until Wednesday 11th February. Check it out in the Fringe Guide here.

Hang on. Give me a sec – I’m still recovering from the night. It was a pub crawl after all. After four pints, four pubs and four acts I’m still left thinking “What the hell happened?”

It started off at The Court’s beer garden with a pint and Scottish comedian Alan Anderson as MC for the evening. He hinted that throughout the night there’d be three great acts and one ‘shit performer’. In no way did we think he was serious. I don’t think even he expected his joke to develop into a literal prophecy.

Thankfully the first act, UK comedian Nik Coppin, wasn’t the ‘shit performer’. While his performance mainly consisted of the same jokes he performed at Aaaaaaaargh! It’s the best of Fringe Comedy from the UK, those who hadn’t seen him found him a laugh. He did introduce some new jokes that cracked me up, like how Disney movies use an English accent to voice the villain, despite the character being everything from French to Russian.

Next stop was The Brass Monkey with Adelaide comedian Micky D. If you’re married and hate KFC, this guy’s the comedian for you. I have to admit, after downing another pint, I found anything and everything he said funny. Even Micky’s description of his busted knee looking like Mick Jagger imitating a vagina sent me slapping me knee and laughing like a hooligan.

Elephant Wheelbarrow was the third stop on the crawl, with comedian Gordon Southern. He was hands down the best comedian on the crawl. I was sold when he observed that Australia Day primarily consists of downing Mexican beer, wrapping ‘Made in China’ Australia flags over your shoulders and listening to a Hottest 100 consisting of a lot of UK and US artists. He also had the crowd in fits of laughter when he accurately personified Australian cities as women.

After three successful acts I thought MC Anderson was lying to me when he said there was a ‘shit performer’. It seemed too obvious for the last act to be the busted one. While I don’t think Anderson intentionally planned on a dud comedian performing – we got one anyway.

Thankfully for the comedian, I’d had four pints by this stage, so I can’t even name him and shame him. Initially I thought he was good, he managed to consistently get a laugh out of the crowd, but as soon as a heckler approached him, he was thrown off. It all went down hill from there.

I’ve seen a lot of comedians before, but never have I seen one bomb so badly. He was completely oblivious to the crowd’s reaction to his jokes. It was clear the audience found his humour more offensive than comical but that didn’t stop him from digging himself a deeper hole. It didn’t take long for Anderson to signal to cut the show short and another heckler to label him the ‘shit performer’. This lead to the comedian grabbing his bag and telling the audience ‘Fuck you all’ before leaving Connections Nightclub. He started shouting at an audience member five minutes later when a handful of us left the venue.

It was a shame the night went downhill so quickly, especially after such a high. It’s definitely a show worth going to – I’d just bail after the third show if I had the chance to do it over again.

Comedy Pub Crawl is running until Sunday 8th February. Check it out in the Fringe Guide here.

It was an intimate night in the Noodle Palace’s Ramen Room. The sold old crowd consisted of less than fifty people – all packed together in the disguised TAFE classroom. Unfortunately for Ciaran Lyons, hardly anyone in the audience was willing to participate in his show, despite the full house.

It was a risk Lyons took, constructing an hour-long show around audience involvement – a risk that led to the performance finishing at 8:33pm instead of the expected 8:50pm. Half an hour of Lyons humour wasn’t enough for me. I was already itching to see another show or catch him on The Project‘s ‘Metro Whip-Around’ only minutes after leaving the Noodle Palace.

He would have pulled off the show brilliantly too if anyone bothered to participate and answer his questions; it’s not like he was asking for some complex algebra equation to be solved either. All he wanted to know was ‘What do you do for a living?’ or ‘What do you study at uni?’ so he could use the reply as the butt of his next joke. Come on people you’re at a comedy show – what do you expect? If it weren’t for a Scottish woman and myself, Lyons would have been talking to chirping crickets the whole time.

Despite the awkward silences, when Lyons addressed the crowd, his personal stories on being the youngest sibling, travelling to Las Vegas, and perverted high school examiners were a hoot. It wasn’t just Lyons’ age bracket that appreciated his stories and sense of humour, but the fifty year olds found him a laugh too.

Given the chance, I’d see No More Fake ID again. While I give the performance I saw three stars, with a willing and talkative audience to work with, Lyons show could easily move up to four.

Ciaran Lyons – No More Fake ID! is running until Saturday 7th February. Check it out in the Festival Guide here.

Tim Motley couldn’t have summarised his show any better: “That’s the craziest fucking show I’ve ever done”. As Motley opens by explaining how tough it is being a “jaded private dick”, Teatro 1 loses power, leaving him without a mic and music. Motley’s right; it’s really bloody tough being a “jaded private dick”, especially during a Perth summer storm.

As the technicians promised, power returns within five minutes, and Motley’s Cluedo-like performance starts getting into the swing of things. With a mixture of magic, monologue and character analysis (seriously, he accurately guessed a woman’s star sign), Motley takes you on an investigation that’s difficult to follow because his card tricks are so mind-blowing.

Like many comedies, 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick has a lot of audience participation. You fill out a questionnaire which Motley uses for profile analysis, and a couple of members will be brought upon stage to act as Dirk Darrow’s foes and perform a small dance number.

Not long after Motley analyses members of the crowd, Teatro loses power again. There’s no mic, no music and the technicians can’t even adjust the lights (an important tool in Motley’s performance). Motley repeats cues several times for the technicians to begin a voice over or switch lighting, without response, and realises the remainder of the show just got a whole lot harder.

Without important voice overs necessary for the story’s plot, Motley had to improvise a majority of his performance. Despite the unscripted changes, the crowd’s hysterics only grew; his handling of the situation shows just how brilliant the performers at Fringe can be.

In hindsight, the opening show should have really been called 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: The Accidental Improv. You couldn’t help but admire Motley’s perseverance, and congratulate him on pulling off a hilarious performance despite the difficulties. He well and truly deserved his standing ovation.

2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dirk Darrow Investigation runs until 4th February at Teatro 1 -Perth Cultural Centre. Check it out in the Festival Guide here.

I have to be completely honest here: I’ve never been to the circus. Not even Cirque du Soleil. Leading up to seeing the Trash Test Dummies, I filled my head with expectations based off Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival or American Horror Story: Freak Show. I even thought it might be similar to Stomp. But it’s safe to say Trash Test Dummies did not meet these admittedly high expectations.

I was hopeful of the show’s potential when the acrobatic trio took selfies of themselves and the crowd like it was the 2014 Oscars, but as the show progressed, I quickly realised it was going to be a long hour watching this trio speak gibberish while mucking about with wheelie bins.

Granted, they had me laughing when they impersonated the opening scene of The Lion King using a smiley ball as a substitute for Simba, and I had a chuckle at their imitation of AFL players preparing to kick a goal. Their acrobatic skills, while sometimes sloppy, were still impressive and left the crowd applauding in amazement, however these personal highlights are only a small percentage of the show.

The ideal audience members for this show are young families or adults who are still kids at heart. Their performance is a child’s dream: standing on heads, running around carelessly and just general tomfoolery. You can understand why kids enjoy it, because they so badly want to be a part of it.

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from seeing the trio, especially not families – it’s a great opportunity for parents and their kids to have a unique night out. Judging by kids’ reactions (at several shows – not just Trash Test Dummies), they thoroughly enjoy the Fringe experience – probably because they have zilch expectations, unlike yours truly.

Trash Test Dummies runs until 4th February at Teatro 1 in the Perth Cultural Center. Check them out in the Fringe Guide here.

I’m not going to lie; if I didn’t have to write this review right now I’d still be in The Moon watching the HOO-HAA. For 24 hours straight, a bunch of comedians are divided into two teams, competing against one another in the art of improv. Nobody has a clue what’s going to happen.

While I’m still unfamiliar with the rules of HOO-HAA, I know one thing: it’s damn hilarious. The first fifteen minutes of the show involved what I call ‘Dramatic Charades 2.0′, where two comedians had to act out the word “gnarly” for their fellow team mate. Thank god his life didn’t depend on the accuracy of his answers, otherwise he’d be a goner. To the crowd’s credit, no one shouted out the answer; instead we were all on the edge of our seats, heads buried in our hands as the guy kept guessing “Narnia” and made-up words like “narneelee”.

24 Hour HOO-HAA is a great audience involvement show. Most of the games involve some audience participation, usually the shouting out of bizarre statements the teams have to incorporate into their improv. Oh how tempting it was to shout out “My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns hun” when they asked for a song lyric.

Within the hour I attended, I heard the story of a young lady seeking the love of a sexy dentist who also has a passion for ice sculpting; witnessed the tragic star-crossed love between Tom (who wets his pants) and Marleen (the daughter who gets called a son), and had a glimpse of what a romance/horror/western/silent/French rom-com would look like.

The absolute best thing about this show is you can return to The Moon at any point within the 24 hours – at no extra cost. In fact, Cut Snake Comedy gives you back a dollar for every extra hour you watch. Be prepared to set aside a few hours if you plan to see the HOO-HAA, because I can assure you, one hour is nowhere near enough.

24 Hour HOO-HAA runs for one day. You can check out The Big HOO-HAA in the festival guide here.

I’m not going to lie, when I entered The Velvet Lounge, I was confused. Despite the name there was no velvet (only plastic chairs), and a jazz-techno keyboard-hip-hop rap band was playing where I expected to see Rory Lowe. Fear not, these folks aren’t only his supporting act but his supportive friends. Give them a few songs and Lowe appears.

Entering with a British accent that’s just inhaled a helium balloon, Lowe joins in on the rap, designating a song to the couples out there, encouraging them to make sandwiches for one another, before setting off on his choose-your-own-adventure-style show.

When you walk into The Velvet Lounge a card awaits on your chair, each with a different number; which of Lowe’s anecdotes you’ll get depends on which member of the crowd he calls upon. No two shows are the same.

This method of constructing his performance made it an authentic experience. With at least 61 stories to be told, it was refreshing to see Lowe laugh after a number was called and the story registered in his mind. It was evident in his expression how hilarious or absurd the moment was as the memory resurfaced; you could feel the nostalgia without living it yourself.

Lowe’s show is complete with spot-on impersonations, dad jokes and taking the mickey out of his stereotype; it would be worth viewing the show at least twice to see how the variations in stories affect the show’s quality. And to hear the Brit rap under the influence of helium – who on Earth doesn’t want to hear that hilarious combo?

Rory Lowe – Done sayin’ I’m done playin’ runs until 12th February at The Velvet Lounge and Mojo’s Bar. Check it out in the Fringe Guide here.

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.