Comedy Festival 2018: Ivan Aristeguieta brings bulls, balls and bravado in Matador ★★★★

BULLS, balls and bravado! Venezuelan-Spaniard-Australian Ivan Aristeguieta makes three cultures proud in a show that marks him as a star on the rise.

OLA! What an entrance.

With the poise of a bullfighter and the guile of a conman, Ivan Aristeguieta draws in the crowd for an intense and thoughtful hour of stand-up.

A big winner at last year’s Adelaide Fringe (the ‘warm-up’ festival where many comics hone their act) this is a confident and cracker show with the challenges and contradictions of modern life splayed out in a relatable and energetic fashion.

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The set-up is there early: his grandfather took him to bullfights as a child and he wanted to be a matador. Now his partner is an Australian vegetarian who hugs chickens. Aiyee!

Australian knowledge of Venezuela is probably limited to football and the petro-politics fuelling 2000 per cent annual hyper-inflation. But that’s no impediment to enjoying this show.

Ivan Aristeguieta in Matador.

There are beautiful riffs on immigration and suffering (funnier than it sounds) in this supremely confident and broad enjoyable show.

In a note, shared on screen, his mum wishes him “Mucha mierda!”. It’s a theatrical term, the Australian equivalent to “break a leg”.

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MARK WATSON: STAND UP FOR LEOPARDS IN COLD ZOOS

In days gone by, he explains, you could tell a show was a hit by the large amount (mucha) of carriages waiting out front, with the horses leaving their deposits (mierda).

Based on that, Aristeguieta can expect a sizeable pile building up on Little Collins St during the festival.

Ivan Aristeguieta, Matador

Victoria Hotel, 215 Little Collins St, until April 22.

comedyfestival.com.au