Comedy served up eight different ways
Reviewed at the Astor Hotel on 22 February 2019
Presented by Adapt Enterprises Pty Ltd
Late Night Comedy is the brain child of local comedian, Ross Voss, who hosts the regular Cranker Comedy nights at the Crown and Anchor, Tuesday nights, year-round. This is the Fringe version of the rotating schedule of local talent, mixed in with performers who are in Adelaide specifically for the Fringe. What’s great about this is that every performance is different, meaning you can go several times and not get bored.
On Friday night, the line-up featured Ross Voss as host and show ‘glue’, as well as seven of Adelaide’s finest comedians. In order they were: Brian Pritchard, Jessica Byrne, Steve Davis, Gus Lee, Gav Beyer, Todd Gray, and Steve Copeley.
Voss threw in some of his own zingers and did an impressive performance of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet in a bunch of different accents. My favourite was the Italian and, sadly, the Aussie accent does let the Bard down. Brian Pritchard was king of the one-liners with gems such as, ‘My miniature poodle can jump higher than my six-foot fence…because my fence can’t jump.’ Jessica Byrne brought the mum jokes to which many women in the audience seemed to relate. Steve Davis got lots of mileage out of the common nature of his name and rewrote Australia’s national anthem. Gus Lee’s dry wit and deadpan delivery cracked the audience up, especially when he regaled with a story of how guacamole had taught him the futility of war. Gav Beyer provided expert insight into Australia’s drinking culture and controversially explored the notion that it isn’t really what’s on the inside that counts. Todd Gray’s routine was largely about his sad single status and the fact that doing stand-up about it is cheaper than therapy. Steve Copeley was another witty one-liner guy who told of the time he’d been attacked by two lions…or perhaps they were Rotarians. All performers dealt well with some drunk heckling from the audience which, given the performance was in a pub, was probably inevitable.
Late Night Comedy is a great way to end a night out at the Fringe. It provides a smorgasbord of funnies, the opportunity for audience members to sample and go seek out more from performers with their own solo Fringe shows and, importantly, supports local comedy. While I can’t comment on what you might get on another night of Late Night Comedy due to the rotating line-up, I’d encourage you to go along and just enjoy the ride. Eight comedians for twenty bucks is a pretty great deal, and if you like what you see, you can always head to the Cranker outside of Fringe season.
Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond
Venue: Gillies room, Astor hotel
Season: 22 Feb-16 March (Friday and Saturday nights)
Duration: 75 minutes
Tickets: $20
More News
