Dave Hughes – Sweet: Winning Comedy From One Of Australia’s Leading And Best Loved Comedians – Adelaide Fringe Review

The Garden Of Unearthly Delights - The Vagabond, Fri 19 Feb One of Australia’s leading comedians, Dave Hughes is instantly recognisable due not only to his prolific television gigs and MIX 102.3 radio show with Kate Langbroek, but also his very distinctive voice and relaxed humour. ‘Hughesy’ arrived onstage to a raucous greeting by a crowd who were obviously thrilled to be meeting Aussie comedy royalty up close and personal. His shows follow a winning formula as he spends the first 10 minutes bantering with latecomers who themselves gave as good as they got, some even pre-empting a joke or two, much to the comic’s (feigned) annoyance. This is what makes his stand-up shows special – people feel so comfortable with the guy that complete strangers think nothing of yelling out and getting involved, taking the show in all sorts of unintended directions. Hughesy then steers towards his latest Adelaide observations – our insistence that petrol prices are TOP news stories and wtf is going on with THAT hospital? etc. As always, he ensures we know how much he loves Adelaide and it is clear that Adelaide (the part crammed in to The Vagabond tent at least) loves Hughesy right back. The rest of the show is jam-packed with tales of a myriad of tricky situations he has survived at the hands of his wife, his kids and balloon-eating dog. Weirdo fan moments provide for great stories and he shares a few ‘behind-the-scenes’ anecdotes to the great delight of The Footy Show and Australia’s Got Talent fans. By the end of the night the ‘happy hormones’ were a-flowing, having spent a solid hour in stitches as Hughesy congratulated us – “Good on you guys” - on being such a great audience. No, Dave Hughes, “Good on YOU!”. Rosie van Heerde Dave Hughes – Sweet continues at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights - The Vagabond from 8.15pm until Sun 28 Feb. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. Image courtesy of Fiona Stafford