Show reviewed: 04/03/26

Show rating: He both danced and showed a nipple thus I’m obligated to grant a Mambo No. 5 stars!

One of my very favourite things as a reviewer is developing a relationship with certain artists and watching their talent develop as their career matures. Contrary to what people may have been told, I have never been married to Ollie or been allowed the privilege to break up with him so this review comes from a place of pure spite, caffeine and witchy cackling. I’ve long had the pleasure of watching British comedian Ollie Horn at several Adelaide Fringe Festivals over the years and he is a very clever boy indeed.

As rude and naughty this little Englishman is, Ollie is definitely is smarter than he looks and his comedy is more clever & subversive than his taste in music. He is not afraid to mix a cutting razor sharp wit paired with deep social commentary accompanied to the strains of Lou Bega. I’m not sure what is more offensive, his crowd work or his taste in German pussy anthems. I appreciate that he both dehumanised people while using it to denounce how transactional human relations are becoming in modern times.

The Wednesday night audience was receptive to the neurodiverse representation provided by Ollie and very enthusiastic to his profound knowledge of orcas of the Puget Sound. He has a unique understanding why these orcas have had a cultural renaissance of wearing salmon hats, a behaviour that hasn’t been seen since the 1980s. Apparently this is because they cannot access Uber Eats and find a £2 quid hat on Depop. So salmon hats are a pushback against consumerism taking the meaningfulness from human connections and bringing your own lunch to save war migrants from delivering tacos on a Tuesday night at 1am.