East coast comedian AJ Lamarque is making a name for himself within the LGBTQI+ communities on that side of the country, although this marks his first appearance at the Adelaide Fringe. He’s been around for more than a decade, and brings us his latest creation.

It’s a cheeky, sometimes-factual exposé on ship life aboard a gay-themed cruise that sets 1,000+, gay, bi and other men to sea. It’s not always smooth sailing between white parties, casual sex, and chance conversations that stay with you. There’s also homophobia in some ports, misread body language, and social substance abuse. 

In between these seafaring tales, he meanders through a number of unrelated stories which are always interesting but often lack a point or punchline. For a seasoned comedian, it seems an odd choice to make a segue that isn’t for a laugh or to hit the audience with some profound food for thought. One in particular that goes nowhere is his tale of a homophobe in Burnie, Tasmania who winds down his car window to make an obscene gesture.

Lamarque is charming with a good stage presence for an intimate audience. His casual storytelling style connects well with the room but there’s far too much “umming” which weakens his impact. He presents as an up-and-coming comedian rather than someone with so much successful history.

The laughs are relatively regular throughout the hour despite the fact that the show doesn’t build to any kind of climax other than what’s spoken about in jest. 

A Beginner’s Guide to Gay Cruising is not rocking any boats but it’s a fair wind blowin’.