Having recently come back from gigging in Australia, I am happy to confirm that Australia is far too far away. Moreover, I found out too late that the secret to long haul flights is to divide the journey up and stop over somewhere. I also found out too late that my chair reclined – 13 hours into the fight to Doha on the way back home, but that’s another story.

Travel aside, would I recommend gigging in Australia? In short: yes, I would. I was there for the Best of British at the Adelaide Fringe. I was fortunate as I was working for a top-notch promoter, most of my travel and all of my accommodation was paid for which meant most of my spending money went on food, iced coffees and second-hand jewellery from the RSPCA charity shop including a Peppa Pig ring watch. Yes, that too is another story. What can I tell you? I don’t have great eyesight and thought the images were a pink and purple stone until I got back home and took my contact lenses out.

Yes, I really bought this!

I gigged every night while I was out there. In Britain that would be a nightmare. Primarily due to all the travel. In Adelaide it was a 20-minute bus ride from the bungalow I was staying in to the venue in town. Even doubling up, the furthest I had to walk between gigs was 7 minutes and even someone as innately lazy as myself can manage that distance.

For the most part, I was also doing sets that were much shorter in length than the sets I do in the UK. I was doing up to 4 to 5 gigs a night sometimes, but if you’re only doing 10-15  minutes at a time that makes it far more manageable.

Moreover, the great thing about performing in Australia as a British comic is that Aussies and Brits speak the same language – more or less. Aussies have a similar humour to the Brits and a lot of cultural references are the same as Aussies grew up watching British TV shows back in the days before YouTube and Netflix when people still did that kind of thing.

Of course, the real clincher was that I was not doing my own show out there. I didn’t have to worry about promoting; didn’t have to worry about ticket sales; didn’t have to worry if I should pull the show due to lack of numbers. In short, I didn’t have to worry. All I had to do was turn up, do my time and be funny.

If I’m honest, it was more like a holiday with a gig or two in the evening. The holiday atmosphere was helped by the fact that it was extremely hot. One day I tried to buy a beach towel when the friendly shop assistant informed me that they were no longer in stock as they were getting their winter stock in. At the time it was 39 degrees Celsius outside. Fortunately, my disbelief at this policy was tempered by the fact that I don’t understand Celsius; I mean I knew it was hot but I was blissfully unaware that is a whopping 102 degrees Fahrenheit in old English.

Adding to the fun, Adelaide has a wealth of beaches to choose from. Glenelg is the most famous one. Sadly, I forgot to bring my swimming costume with me when I went which ruled out going for a swim somewhat. I did however go to West Beach where I swam in the water safe in the knowledge that there are no jelly fish or sharks in South Australia; and most importantly, sharks don’t swim in shallow water. Unfortunately, my ‘knowledge’ was predicated on no research whatsoever and I later found out that I was mistaken on all three points. Back on dry land, there are also hidden gems in Adelaide such as The David Roache Foundation, a spectacular house, stuffed full of paintings and objets d’art.

Another plus is that Australians tend to be welcoming and friendly. As a Londoner who has also had the pleasure of living in Paris and Berlin, I found the helpfulness and friendliness of staff, in particular, a rather unusual if welcoming experience.

Would I go again? Most definitely. Although next time I’ll make sure to recline my seat; stop off somewhere nice on the way over and back, and do some proper research this time as regards Australia’s dangerous fauna.

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