From the perils of parenthood to self-deprecating wit, from dry feminism to scripted sketches, it was a scrumptious sampler of what to expect at this year’s Sydney Comedy Festival (SCF) at the opening gala.
With 14 performers on the bill, jesters and comedic royalty gathered in comedy court to perform in an evening of entertainment that catered to the tastes of all.Irish trio Foil, Arms & Hog stood out among their peers for their witty and impressive sketches. From where their inspiration comes from is unknown but under the guise of monks and singing a tale in a Gregorian chant style, these blokes are utter geniuses at their craft and bring something so fresh and so riveting to the stage, it won’t come as a surprise when you see more and more of these three on your televisions and headlining stages the world over.
Comedy king Phil Jupitus seemed disgruntled and unenthusiastic as he took to the stage as the penultimate act. Now, Jupitus is famed for his involvement in a plethora of British comedy programmes where you can regularly see him boisterous, chuckling, and sharply in the game – for many seeing him for the first time on the live stage, they only had that reputation to draw from, and the ultimate conclusion was is that Jupitus is certainly an act that needs more than five minutes on stage for him, it seems, to really have a wholesome exchange with his audience. But in his short time he still managed to illicit some laughs, and it would be well worth seeing the legend at his full show during the festival.
Additionally, Daniel Sloss, Des Bishop, Fern Brady, Georgie Carroll, Jamali Maddix, Jimeoin, Luke Heggie, Mark Forward, Nick Cody, Nikki Britton, Phil Wang, and Tom Allen, all too had the audience roaring, five minutes per performance not nearly enough to do the acts justice nor the audience to really give up the love for these brilliant wordsmiths. If anything, such short teases of such sublime entertainment only necessitated the need to attend the full performances throughout the festival’s run dates, hour-long sets that are sure to be worth your time if this night’s quips and witticisms were anything to go by.
Image © Ben Sanford
But the real MVP of the evening was England’s own Joe Lycett, who as MC introduced, interjected and closed the event with a wonderfully unabashed off-the-cuff humour. Lycett's ability to draw on his surrounds and make a joke was effortless, his willingness and talent at forming a relationship with his audience had him, just like an Aussie, cracking candid cracks at the expense of his newfound friends – 'Ben and Bitch Boy', two members of the crowd who quickly became Lycett’s focal point for their willingness and adoration of the MC were the butt of his jokes and attention for most of the evening, Lycett even going so far as to use the former’s phone to call his jealous girlfriend on stage for the entire auditorium to hear – needless to say, the audience erupted with laughter each and every time Lycett set foot on the stage. Bravo, sir, bravo!
At two-and-a-half hours long the evening was drawn out and filled to the brim with as much magic as SCF organisers and performers could muster, and the eclectic menagerie of performers and comic styles really only satiated the appetite for a short period – best get along to one of the festival shows if you really need a fix!
