There is, in comedy, a quiet war that plays out between generations. A battle of tone, of timing, of delivery, of reference points. The young roll their eyes at the old, the old shake their heads at the young, and somewhere in the middle, everyone is just trying to get through the day without screaming into the void.
At FRINGE WORLD, that battle takes center stage in Boomers and Zoomers, a generational comedy showcase that is as much a cultural study as it is a gut-busting, R-rated laugh riot. Billed as a night where two vastly different perspectives collide, the show invites audiences to witness a comedic relay race between veteran stand-ups and rising stars, proving that—regardless of age—funny is funny.
A Format That Works Because It Shouldn’t
The lineup reads like a sociological experiment with a wicked sense of humor. On one side, Nola Bliss, a sharp-tongued, silver-haired force of nature, alongside Geoff Stainton and Phil Cook, representing the school of “back in my day” comedy, where punchlines are crafted with care, patience, and a total disregard for political correctness.
On the other side, John Wing, Tahlia Baker, and a rotating cast of Zoomers wield their cynicism and self-awareness like weapons, cutting through the nostalgia with observations as brutal as they are hilarious. In past shows, Baker has torn into Gen Alpha with a level of scorn typically reserved for world leaders, while Wing—hailing from Mandurah—brings a stoner-philosopher’s insight to the stage, unraveling life’s absurdities with a casualness that belies his years.
Bridging the gap between these two comic forces is Kelsey De Almeida, a UK stand-up who has toured with Arj Barker and Stephen K Amos, playing referee to the intergenerational madness. If anyone can keep the peace between a Boomer reminiscing about the glory days and a Zoomer explaining why they refuse to use voicemail, it’s De Almeida.
The Nola Bliss Effect
If there is a singular unifying force in the show, it is Nola Bliss. At 76, she moves across the stage with the kind of presence that only comes from decades of truly not giving a damn. Her brand of comedy is unfiltered, unapologetic, and delivered with the precision of someone who has spent years watching the world reshape itself around them.
In a recent show, she opened with the now-infamous line:
“I drove in from York to do this show for you—hopefully I remembered to turn the gas off.”
The audience, already won over, didn’t stop laughing for the next ten minutes.
A Show That Shouldn’t Work—But Absolutely Does
The structure of Boomers and Zoomers defies traditional comedy showcases. It isn’t just a mix of acts strung together; it’s a deliberately curated conversation, one that highlights how humor changes with time—while also proving that, deep down, people have always been laughing at the same things.
Geoff Stainton, the self-proclaimed “father of dad jokes,” delivers the kind of punchlines that would make a teenager groan, and then, almost immediately, John Wing follows up with a set that takes those same generational quirks and eviscerates them. The result is a back-and-forth that builds throughout the night, revealing, in real-time, the strange commonalities between two groups that are often presented as polar opposites.
As the night progresses, there’s an undeniable shift—one where the audience, regardless of age, stops seeing the comics as Boomers or Zoomers and just starts seeing them as people who are funny as hell.
A Fringe Must-See
Boomers and Zoomers has already been hailed as “an absolute festival gem” by Comedy Central’s Mo Sidik and “an unforgettable night of comedy where age is just a number, and every joke lands perfectly” by ArtsHub.
It is, at its core, a celebration of comedy in its purest form: one person on a stage, microphone in hand, trying to convince a room full of strangers to see the world as they do. And in the end, it’s that connection—not age, not references, not TikTok or VHS tapes—that matters.
So whether you grew up with rotary phones or FaceTime, Boomers and Zoomers will make you laugh at how ridiculous life is, and more importantly, remind you that no matter how old you are, nobody really knows what the hell is going on.
Limited tickets available. Book now—before the Boomers get there first.
Where: The Leederville Hotel – 742 Newcastle Street, Leederville WA
When: Saturday 8th and 15th – 4pm
Tickets: At Fringe World – Click here
For more information click here
