Let me set the scene. It’s about half way through the set, the comedian’s just had to deliver the punch-line of a joke for the third time; and now he’s offered to get a round in for the audience because an older Swiss-Aussie audience member told him he was making him thirsty.
Presumably this was not how comedian Larry Dean envisaged the opening night of his show Out Now at the Perth Comedy Festival to go. And fair enough he’s won awards. But you know best laid plans and all that – and I don’t know how Dean thought it went – but personally I thought the show was very funny – wonderfully ramshackle – but at the same time so entertaining.
Perth being the third stop on his Australian tour, his show was changed a little; he’s done away with the jokes about the Scottish independence (because nobody gives a shit in Australia apparently), in it’s place some observations on Australia, Bogans and a hilarious anecdote highlighting the differences between Australian and British ticket inspectors.
Dean’s sexuality is also a point of humour throughout the set, with Dean playing around with the stereotypes that abound. The audience were also treated to the retelling of his first (maybe only?) heterosexual experience; a move designed to make his parents proud, and that was pretty much where we were up to when things went a bit off kilter. The audience also got to hear the story of how Dean came out to his parents, which was both lovely and hilarious (lets just say money changed hands).
Dean is a gifted storyteller and an incredibly charismatic performer. He’s one of those people that it’s incredibly hard not to like. He had a great interplay with the audience, getting their input into the show – (sometimes even when he didn’t need it). Certainly he knows how to engage and entertain an audience, and not to mention make them laugh. Dean may have dropped a glass, so to speak, but no-one was calling TAXI – though one woman might have been calling Uber.
This wasn’t Dean’s first time in Perth, and hopefully it won’t be his last. So hopefully he doesn’t get caught without a ticket by the Transperth ticket inspectors, because I think I have a new favourite comedian.
Larry Dean will be performing his show Out Now at the Perth International Comedy Festival until Sunday 1st May. For more info and tickets visit HERE
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