Tom Ballard – The World Keeps Happening: And So Does The Comedy at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – Adelaide Fringe Review

The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – Studio 7, Tue 16 Feb Comedy is hard to review. All the things that work in other reviews, just don’t work in comedy reviews. It’s poor form to talk about the jokes and ruin the punchlines or even the build ups to the punchlines. So what’s left to say? You could skip ahead to the points rating: that’s a pretty good indication that you are going to laugh – hard – for a good 60 minutes. The basic premise is also safe territory: in The World Keeps Happening Ballard sets out to solve all the world’s problems from ISIS to misogyny with a few stops in between. Throughout this broad sweep of content, Ballard had the room in the palm of his hand, even when he pushed into ‘too soon’ territory and addressed issues that are close to the bone, the laughs still came easy and often. But best of all, this is smart comedy. Comedy that affirms your belief systems is nice. But there’s nothing better than comedy that makes you think about something differently. Ballard wears his politics on his sleeve – whether in relation to gay marriage, feminism or refugees – and he isn’t afraid to use humour to make his point. It’s in shows like this that you see that comedy is a powerful force that can bring ideas and people together in ways that almost nothing else can do. Where else can a person push so deeply into controversial topics, standing tall in his beliefs, challenging conservative ideas? And doing all that while making a room full of people laugh so hard that they walk out with cheek muscles tighter than a post-op Hollywood star? For my money, this is the best kind of comedy. Lynette Washington Tom Ballard – The World Keeps Happening continues at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – Studio 7 from 8.15pm until Sun 28 Feb. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.