Applauded for his culinary acting adventures as the “Sandwich Guy” in The Flash (2023), Kieran Hodgson is on a quest to make America great again. Failing that, he certainly made Perth great during his Saturday night show on 10th May 2025 for the Perth Comedy Festival.
With an undeniable talent extending well beyond stand-up, some of Kieran’s most provocative roles have cast him as the fallen prince in the TV show “Prince Andrew: The Musical,” which he also wrote. He’s also the creator of “Bad TV Impressions” on X (formerly Twitter), also available on YouTube.
After witnessing some of his impressions, including Hugh Grant, Bob Katter, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy, it soon becomes apparent that Kieran’s humour is as unhinged as he is unapologetically British.
Held in the upstairs Chorus Room of the Regal Theatre, “Kieran Hodgson – Sounds American” is fast paced and jam-packed with insightful humour as deranged as the state of America. Truly one of the most endearing performers, his delightful demeanour was tested by the couple who talked loudly throughout his act before abruptly leaving – Kieran handled it with all the grace of the Bridgertons and the royal family, impersonations he has also nailed.
It’s easy to see why Kieran is a four-time Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee, most recently in 2023 for his “Big in Scotland” show. He’s playing at the Sydney Comedy Festival on 15th and 16th May before returning to the UK, where he’ll be touring throughout the year.
In the Sydney Comedy Festival’s showcase, Malaysian comedians Kavin Jay, Rizel Van Geyzel, and Papi Zak took to the stage at the Riverside Theatre. They delivered a set filled with relatable anecdotes to an audience, the majority it seemed from their mother country, of their cultural observations. Their performances provided not only a glimpse into Malaysian life but also a humorous take on the quirks of everyday experiences in family and social life.
Kavin Jay opened the night with a blend of storytelling and observational comedy. His routine featured hilarious tales about his family, particularly his “Drugstore Aunty,” who dispenses medication to relatives for every conceivable ailment, even ignoring the seven year use-by date! Kavin Jay related personal stories and showed some into cross-border humour, joking about his neighbouring country, Singapore. His quips about the low crime rates there led to some laughter, especially the absurd image of a car chase lasting only 15 minutes before the criminal had to turn back due to the country’s tiny size. Kavin Jay’s jokes ventured into talking about everyone’s favourite topic- food. I particularly liked his view of the good old Bunnings sausage sizzle, as a culinary adventure fraught with danger.
Papi Zak followed Kavin Jay. His routine was a vibrant mix of observational humour and playful banter. He had a good rapport with the audience, which was a natural follow on, having had experiences hosting TV shows like The Halal Foodie and Happy Endings. Papi Zak was not shy about celebrating his own generous size, calling himself “Malaysia’s biggest comedian, (in size!)” and sharing his experiences with food and getting away with breaking some rules, by speaking in his American accent. It was funny to hear Papi Zak tell his stories in his American accent and peppering in Malaysian traditional sayings of “ay -yah!” and “lah!”. It was clever of Papi Zak to integrate Sydney’s unpredictable weather into his comedy routine, given our changeable current day to day weather, and this bit of localised humour enamoured him to the crowd.
Rizel Van Geyzel rounded out the trio with his positive energy that kept the audience engaged. Rizel’s easygoing retelling of stories relaxed listeners. One stand out part of the set was when he unveiled the ‘world’s sexiest Asian accent (according to a survey)’ -the Filipino accent! The introduction to this topic was entertaining, particularly with his anecdote about mishearing something a Filipino waiter had asked him, which had the audience in stitches.
His humour poking fun at himself shone through when he joked about being half Chinese and his amazing ability to grow facial hair, which perhaps some Chinese men relate to – as they are generally not seen with full beards and moustaches!
Another amusing moment was when Rizel talked about the Malaysian cultural practice of taking off his shoes when he went inside his non-Asian friend’s house. This personal story, where this custom was met with confusion by his friends, was enjoyable.
The night took a fun twist when Rizel introduced a special guest, Thomas, whom he had met on a plane on the way to Australia. Giving Thomas the chance to perform stand-up added an unexpected yet enjoyable element to the show. Thomas’s joke was well-received, and watching a comedian support a fellow funny person by giving him the opportunity to perform on stage and share his joke, was truly heartwarming.
Together, Kavin Jay, Papi Zak and Rizel offered an evening that celebrated not only the richness of Malaysian culture, but also the universal language of laughter. Their ability to weave personal narratives with broader social commentary left the audience in a good mood. Their performances were a testament to the power of comedy in bridging cultural gaps and highlighting shared human experiences.
The Malaysian Comedy Allstars was hosted at the Lennox Theatre inside Riverside Theatres in Parramatta and is part of the Sydney Comedy Festival.
As the Perth Comedy Festival is currently in full swing, the biggest night of comedy for the festival was the Perth Comedy Festival Gala at the Regal Theatre with a line-up of international and Australian comedians. It was a showcase of 11 comedians giving the audience a taste of each of their shows.
Sean Woodland did a fantastic job as the MC getting the audience warmed up and it was a full house.
The first comedian was Ivan Aristeguieta all the way from the US. Ivan is Venezuelan married to an American woman. His perception of what he finds sexy was hilarious and it involves her having a Medicare card, not her salsa dancing.
Young Australian female comedian Sez had the audience chuckling at the funny side to her dyslexia and bisexuality.
LA resident John Wynn who grew up in Waco Texas but is of Vietnamese heritage was quite clever on his reasoning as to why couples are often referred to as “partners” which has to do with couples acting as detectives to find out why the wife is unhappy.
For those who enjoy a dry sense of humour, Australian Luke Heggie delivered that in spades. It’s common for comedians to talk about their family in their comedy acts and Luke was no different, especially regarding his wife and step-children. I think a lot of men in his situation would relate to his content.
Perhaps the quirkiest comedy act I have ever seen was Elf Lyons. The British comedian leapt onto the stage as though she was a character from a Hitchcock film in a monologue style, so she didn’t engage directly with the audience like the other comedians. Her performance was very theatrical and melodramatic, but I didn’t really understand most of what she was saying. However, I loved her gorgeous cocktail dress.
Another Californian, Ian Bagg absolutely roasted the front row. Joking that the older audience members most likely didn’t even pay full price for their tickets.
In the second half of the show, there were two Scottish comedians, Grant Mushet and Connor Burns, Englishman Kieran Hodgson and Aussies Chris Ryan and Sammy J. Grant Mushet tapped into Scottish culture for his take on parenting with a wonderfully wicked dry humour. Sammy J is quite well known within the Australian comedy scene using his piano-playing skills and song to relay his comedic talent.
Chris Ryan was hilarious in her impersonation of stall vendors. I always love a good impersonation. Another impersonator was Kieran Hodgson of Donald Trump who hit the mark with the mannerisms and the accent, and donning a red tie to top it off.
The final funny person of the night was another fellow Scotsman, Connor Burns, who got into Aussie slang.
Just as entertaining as the comedians was the Auslan interpreter, Diane. Normally, I don’t pay any attention to these interpreters, but I found myself constantly turning to her for her interpretation of what was being said.
All the comedians did their best in showcasing their talent. Their individual shows are worth checking out at this year’s comedy festival.
Heart, flair and talent to boot. That’s how to best summarise Tomas Clifford, who recently dazzled crowds at the understandable encore season of his cabaret Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up.
Having not been able to attend the initial run of the show during Perth Fringe, I was itching to see it, following nothing but praise from others who had snagged a ticket. Presented as part of the Perth Comedy Festival, and showing at the Rechabite – it was the perfect venue for this production, providing a sense of intimacy while also just enough grandeur to allow Clifford to milk his moment in the spotlight.
Though based on his own experience of a date gone wrong, whirlwind hour grapples with themes everyone can strongly resonate with – feeling alienated, the desire to be accepted and most importantly self love. Mostly sung through; the music and vocals – both written by Clifford – are outstanding, featuring an eclectic mix of genres that keeps audiences on their toes. His clever lyricism was both witty and thought-provoking, but it was ultimately his overall candidness that truly drove home the messaging. I really enjoyed the way the tunes were both performative yet conversational, helping to build rapport with the crowd.
Having previously seen Clifford on stage in acting roles, it was great to see his personality shine through here. The authenticity added a whole extra layer to the performance and it was very evident, as is told within the show, that he is so confident in who he is and was proud to celebrate that with the world.
Props must also go to the small but mighty band helping bring the story to life – drums, keys, bass and guitar, rounded out by the welcome brassy tones of a saxophone and trumpet – along with three backing vocals, all phenomenal in their own right. Clifford’s relationship with both his band and BVs was refreshing, ensuring they were just as much a part of the performance as he was – with the vocalists in particular helping to serve as other ‘characters’ in his life.
All in all, this was an excellently executed cabaret that audiences evidently had a lot of fun at – helped largely in part by that fact that Clifford was too. I cannot wait to see what he does next.
