I usually like to start my Adelaide Fringe comedy reviewing with something light and gentle to ease in to the festival season. And then this year I started by walking in to Gary Starr: Greece Lightening. This was a performance that left me totally speechless from the many ramblings of a hilarious madman whose comedy I can only describe as uncomfortably brilliant!

The description of the show doesn’t give too much away: ‘an overzealous idiot attempts to perform all of Greek Mythology in under 60 minutes’. But it does give several clues as to what to expect. And as me and a group of tardy Fringe goers discovered, Gary was even nice enough to start his show again, much to the chagrin of his under-the-pump tech assistant. Being opening night, there were a few tech flaws and miscues, but the sign of a great performer is that they don’t turn into a deer in the headlights, and they make these minor mistakes part of the show. Gary did this superbly, and it actually made the show feel more real and added to the many, many laughs we had on the night. I can’t exactly say that I learnt any more about Greek Mythology than I already knew BUT I saw the likes of Medusa, Zeus and Poseidon in a whole new eye-opening way… and we didn’t have time to get to Chronos!

One aspect that also helped this show immensely was the eager audience participation. No one tried to be funnier than the comedian on stage, everyone played their part brilliantly, and the front row audience members were even smart enough to realise they were part of an unspoken game of Freeze. Greece Lightening may not be the light, gentle comedy Seedoeatreview was looking for, but it is the manic, ridiculous and balls-out (literally) comedic show which requires a second viewing. Starr in name and star in nature, this is the uproarious show that you need to see!

Five Stars *****