Paul Brasch's Brisbane;

The annual Brisbane Comedy Festival returns once again for 2012 as the Brisbane Powerhouse filled with comedy lovers of all kinds binging on the one month of comedy mayhem on offer throughout March. The most prestigious comedy event in Queensland attracts international and local acts from all aspects of comedy always delivering the gold, however Paul Brasch failed dismally in upholding the bar of expected from the festival.

Brasch is a Brisbinite through and through. Born and bred Brisbane, he declares his love for the city, but also his lack ignorance of its history. Brasch goes on a journey of discovering the roots of his home city; adds a stage, lights and a microphone and transforms it onto stage. He delves into the major events of Brisbane’s past, informing the audience of the city’s origin, floods, and lifestyle. I emphasise that point, he informed the audience. A comedian of his experience should be able to string together facts and dates with punch lines and laughs; however Brasch did not deliver, leaving audience members doing more learning than laughing.

Brasch describes the show as being 'the funniest and wildest history lesson you’ll ever see'. Where the wildness and funny is found in the show is unknown to me, however, as the show progressed this professed 'history lesson' became painfully evident. Sitting through this show I felt an eerie sensation of déjà vu as Brasch recited date after date. It hit me; I’ve encountered a similar experience in a year 9 history oral. The long winded, one hour show was comparable to a middle school assignment, with the only differences being the audience had to pay to watch, and he wasn’t graded (although if he was, I’d suspect he would only just scrape a C). Brasch lacked the essential ingredient in any comedy show; jokes. Too busy correcting the facts in the show, Brasch deviated of a path of funny and became lost in a world of numbers and places. I wasn’t sure whether I should be laughing, or taking notes for a pop test that could happen before the end of a show.

In the last ten minutes of the show, Brasch then began telling stories from his life in Brisbane, with a memorable story from his first job as a dancing banana at Expo 88; however it was way too little, way too late. Brasch should focus on more material like these stories. Material that is…actually funny.

Not every comedian can get it right every time, clearly this is one of those cases. This show was a real miss for Brasch and it’s unfortunate that it was this show that opened the comedy festival for the year. I hope it does not foreshadow what should be expected for the rest of the festival, or else this is going to be one long, disappointing month. Brasch closes the show saying that “as Brisbanites we have to be positive” and I am, the festival can only go up from here.

Rating: *