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Comedy review: Best of Europe: Comedians of Europe, The Oxford Scholar, MICF 2024

Three comics hailing from Europe regale us with their stories of being far and away.
A side on picture of a man in a black jacket with colourful patches on the sleeve, lugging a large mirror ball over his shoulder.

A Greek, an Estonian and an Englishman walk into a bar… For those unwilling to commit to an hour by a single comedian – particularly those you’ve never heard of before – it’s a prudent thing to test the waters by trying out a gig with several in the line-up. Hosted by the gregarious George Zacharopoulos (who has his own show, Greek in the Sheets), this one also contains samples from Estonian Olga and English Luke Benson (also with his own stand-up routine this year, Cleanish).

All three display an easy command of the stage, with cheery audience interaction, as they chat about various topics involving the immigration experience and living in a country that’s not your birthland: Brexit, (culinary) cultural stereotypes or trying to find a willing marriage partner to bypass pesky visa laws so you can stay in Australia… it’s a sampler trio pack that’s worth a look.

Read: Opera review: West Side Story, Sydney Harbour

Tickets: $20.50-$30.50

Best of Europe: Comedians of Europe will be performing at the Oxford Scholar until 21 April 2024 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2024).

Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025. Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy