Reviewed by: Fringefeed
Review by Miranda Crispin | 30 January 2022

This show is a guaranteed mixed bag of nuts!

Best of the Fest Up Late! features random performers from all over Fringe, brought together at an ungodly hour for your comedic pleasure. An assortment of artists ensures that you’ll never see the same show twice and you’ll get some great variety of comedic styles.

In this instance our MC was Benny Darsow, who expertly warmed the crowd and brought us the delight of snort-laughing at his own jokes. He effortlessly had the crowd excited to see more and got everyone involved – if you want to be a part of it make sure you sit at the front!

Pete Sharkey was our first comedian and while he has some good material, his erratic demeanour and seeming lack of preparation made it hard to follow sometimes. Regardless, there was a great fake Irish accent and some amusing stories about his dog with a funny name.

Jacques Barrett was next and had the audience in stitches the whole routine, including his spot-on impressions and hilarious take on Australian tourists. His whole routine about taking his freshly naturalised friend to his first ever cricket game is particularly side-splitting. Jacques finished his brilliant set and tried to leave the stage only to be cheered back for more.

Mickey J rounded our set out, displaying some extremely impressive dance skills and musical comedy with flair. His brand of short skits, songs about random topics like naturopaths and what he does after buying himself a lovely battery operated hair trimmer are a delight to watch and promise a hearty belly laugh.

Ranging from three to five comedians each night, these kind of variety shows are a great way to sample a mix of different artists and maybe find someone you’d like to see more of.

A fun filled hour of comedy- well worth the sore cheeks from laughing!