Comedy Festival 2018: Bart Freebairn rolls at laugh-out-loud pace in Super Joke Volcano ★★★½

CRACKING stand-up from poised and polished practitioner of LOLing, Bart Freebairn.

COMEDY can be like public transport sometimes. You don’t know what kind of ride you’re going to get, but you buy a ticket, hop on and it takes you away.

Which might explain why Freebairn had such an outrageous time with a punter in the front row checking her phone midway through the show. (The gig was flying, so she was more likely getting an update on a kidney transplant list than whipping out Candy Crush to try and pass the hour).

TOMMY LITTLE: FEAST ON THE RIDICULOUS IN LIFE

DAMIEN POWER: FOOD FOR THOUGHT SERVED WITH BELLY LAUGHS

Freebairn rolled along at a great pace, in a long riff that eventually identified a single audience member who: a) Had a phone b) Didn’t use a protective cover, and c) Hadn’t scratched, smashed or dropped it.

He paused: “You are a witch! We shall kill you!”

Bart Freebairn had an outrageous time with a punter in the front row in Super Joke Volcano.

It was a beautiful distillation of Freebairn’s fun and the experience he’s clocked up to share with willing audiences. On themes as disparate as naughtiness, travel, the dangers of napping and the ‘joy’ of Christmas, he built a warm and enjoyable show, rolling from topic to tales.

JAMES VEITCH: TECH BANTER WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE

DANIEL CONNELL: AUSSIE DISHES IT UP SO DRY IT’S DUSTY

If you’re judging on ‘degree of difficulty’ like they do in diving, you’d have to put these factors in: a mid-sized crowd of people seated close together next to the closed bar of a large underground nightclub.

It’s testament to Freebairn’s experience and poise that he floats above it all.

Bart Freebairn, Super Joke Volcano

Pomodoro Sardo, (downstairs) 111 Lonsdale St, until April 22.

comedyfestival.com.au