Show reviewed: 26/02/26

Show rated: 4 stars for four great comedians.

Laura Johnston has created a one stop comedy pop-up shop at the hallowed HYMN BAR with her production What To Watch, where during happy hour, you can catch four different Fringe comedians each night, performing short and sweet sets of 5 minutes. I went on the night of 26/02/26 that featured Chloe Halley, Leo Filipetti, Brandon Duff, Melody Rachel and Stephen Lockwood.

Chole Halley is a musical cabaret comedienne extraordinaire who performed a…let’s just say… an evocative reimagining…of Sixteen Going on Seventeen from well known The Sound of Musicin a way I’m not sure Rodgers and Hammerstein ever could conceive of. She has completed her run at this year’s Adelaide Fringe with Little Miss Typecast in Victoria as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival, March 23rd – 29th, 6pm at Motley Wherehaus

Stand-up comedian, Melody Rachel, is a beautifully engaging and open hearted soul, whose work explores the fact she identifies as both queer and Christian. I liked the confessional, raw but deeply moving humour of how Melody had managed to create harmony in two parts of her life that often cause so much pain and confusion in the spiritual and queer communities. Her show, I’m Gay But I Know Jesus has tickets available through Fringetix.

Stephen Lockwood (AKA Stephen with a PH) is one of my favourite local artists in the stand up Adelaide comedy scene. He is all over this year’s Adelaide Fringe and he is just so effortlessly entertaining as a storyteller that I just kick back and relax as a reviewer when he takes the stage for a yarn that is perfectly paced and pitched. You can catch him in Mum’s Second Favourite and Club Doggo. 

Musically and comedically acclaimed in Australia, Brandon Duff, of A Musical Comedian (insta handle: https://www.instagram.com/brandon.is.funny) and Italian Romeo, Leo Filipetti of Australia, mon Amour, have both completed their show runs for the season but are definitely ones to watch on the comedy circuit.

I can’t end this review without mentioning the hostess with the mostess, Laura Johnston herself. Laura is a recent semi finalist of the world funny women awards and will be releasing her first comedy special, that’s…brave later, this year. Most importantly she’s also 4 years into her 10 year comedy apprenticeship and 0.5cm taller than her mum. To be fair she may also be taller than me by that much. Definitely so much funnier though!

Show run:

Tickets available:

HYMN BAR – HYMN BAR

20-28 Feb, 1, 3-11 Mar at 5:10PM