Comedy Zone

Comedy Zone emcee Nathan Chin delved into the Asian-Australian experience in his opening minutes. His jokes were astute and clever, but the audience might need more warming up to appreciate his edgier material. There was little surprise when an audience member refused to answer his provocation, “What colour am I?”

Tarsh Jago’s deadpan delivery only accentuated the humour in her tales of relationship woes. Dotted with one-liners that help situate Jago’s anecdotes within her personal context as lesbian-identifying Palawa woman, her stories of the mundane are elevated by her skilled storytelling.

Omar Gad really let the audience come to him. Through silence and a semi-permanent frown, Gad instilled a distance between himself and the crowd that makes his presence all the more alluring. While endearing when a smile shone through, his frequent breaking undid some of his impressive mood-making. 

It was Stella Kappos’ set which split the crowd. Kappos flauts the conventions of standup comedy with enchanting irreverance. She zips quickly between topics, never resting on one idea long enough for the audience to get their bearings. This set was utterly batshit and I loved it.

Rachael Hornbuckle closed the night with a stunningly polished set. Hornbuckle couples an absorbing stage presence with politically-charged quips to lustrous effect. Her final joke about a dermatological patient she once had  – which I’ll refrain from spoiling – will certainly be in contention for best one-liner at this year’s festival.