Put on your best gymnastics gear and backflip all the way to wherever he might be performing
Presented by: Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed: 12 June, 2025
If you enjoyed the television comedy The Good Life starring Ted Danson, then Demi Adejuyigbe Is going to Do One (1) Backflip is for you, as Adejuyigbe was one of the writers of the series. If you haven’t seen or heard of The Good Place it doesn’t matter – if you love good, well thought out comedy then this show is also for you.
This year’s Cabaret Festival program describes Demi Adejuyigbe Is going to Do One (1) Backflip as “the most perfect, insane, and hilarious show this festival”. That statement is not a lie, but add words such as off-the-wall, abstract, slightly avant-garde, quirky, zany and very, very funny and you have a more accurate description.
Adejuyigbe’s show was a sellout at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe (as it is here) and his performance earned him a Best Newcomer nomination at the same Fringe. After seeing the show one can see why on both accounts.
Adejuyigbe would have to be the most relaxed comedian this reviewer has seen. He is just so personable and natural. From the very first moment that he dances onto the stage with high energy, you feel as if he has been a lifelong friend. He is also a highly intelligent comedian who has structured the show cleverly with all sorts of visual and verbal gags, PowerPoint presentations, well timed and placed technical wizardry (sort of) and stunts that we are not sure if they are scripted or not – they are, but such is his talent that they feel wonderfully spontaneous and that we share the joke with him.
To describe the show is difficult, because while the segments seem to come from nowhere, they all mesh-up and to say too much would be to ruin the surprises one has in store coming to them. I will say that the overall theme is “How to impress your Crush” by using the A.F.L.I.P! method. Throw in an updated version of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire and “IKEA Monkey The Musical” and you only have the tip of the iceberg. I will say that all this extremely hilarious lunacy leads up to the climatic backflip.
As I mentioned earlier, this season has sold out, but if Adejuyigbe hopefully comes to Adelaide again, put on your best gymnastics gear and backflip all the way to wherever he might be performing.
Reviewed by Brian Godfrey
Photo credit: Claudio Raschella
Venue: Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: ended
More News
