Best of the Fest / Active Bitch Face

Newtown Hotel

Reviewed 3 September                   

Reviewed by Ron Lee, CSP, MAICD

A few years ago, it seemed that you couldn’t be a stand-up comedian unless you were gay. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but now the scene is dominated by multiculturalism. The Sydney Fringe is in full swing and there is apparently an emphasis on international diversity. 

Best of the Fest showcases the broadest range of nationalities in one show.

Jamal Abdul is a blind comedian who has an Italian mother and an Arab father. Apart from the blind jokes and expected puns, he gave us a glimpse into his world. What would dating be like if you were blind? Jamal knows.

Jay Yamaki, from Birmingham, adopted his Japanese wife's last name, has lived in Japan 

for years and described his look as a fusion of Russell Brand and Jesus. He projected an endearingly British sense of self-consciousness and humility.

A female comic from across the dutch is half Maori but the Irish other half is dominant. It looks like a 60 watt light bulb would give her sunburn. She came to Australia, not to play Rugby, as you would expect with someone from the Land of the Long White Cloud and the short, stunted vowel, but to play AFL.

Billed as “Tokyo’s Queen of Deadpan”, Yuki Nivez is a Japanese comic who has a French boyfriend. More about her later.

MC was Seizure Kaiser whose parents are Israeli Arabs. Didn’t think that those words would ever be together. His confident and friendly stage presence quickly warmed up the audience.

In a later show, Yuki Nivez performed Active Bitch Face, tales of a young Japanese woman who is navigating her way through an English-speaking world and dealing with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence.

Kudos to Seizure Kaiser, a force of nature who is also a filmmaker and promoter. He has insightful business awareness and is hugely passionate about promoting stand-up comedy in Sydney.