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.
The Perth Comedy Festival runs from 21 Apr to 18 May. To book tickets to a show, please visit https://www.perthcomedyfestival.com/.
