The very fact that Midlandia has been able to bring out international acts to the Swan Region is a triumph in itself, and the fact that for these last few days of glory at the Midland Junction Arts Centre you can catch two young up-and-coming comedians from polar opposite schools creates a great night out!

First up, we have the English ‘middle-class private educated white boy’ Chris Turner’s Pretty Fly show which is touted as a journey of life through hip hop and secondly Perth’s own new-New Yorker Josh Makinda, performing a very impromptu and crowd-tailored comedy, Lots of Ideas and Limits .

A strong crowd turned out for Chris Turner’s opening night which precedes his two week stay between Midlandia and Noodle Palace in the city. His show, at first glance seems to diverge greatly from the central theme and although still entertaining, those of you expecting a show merely ‘about hip-hop’ may be disappointed at the lack of reference. However, this opens up the door for those of you wanting a well-rounded performance which touches on many of a young man’s issues and how these relate to themes in hip hop, no great knowledge of the genre required! That loose association with hip hop is shown to be a lot stronger than appears on the surface however, the show gets pretty meta at the end, not that I want to say anything more on that.

Starting off with a slew of R-rated gems to conform with the warning on the door, he does what not enough comics do; Informs us of his context from early childhood through to now. Chris’ show although very well planned out and scripted shows signs of brilliance in the few moments he really does throw something out there off the top of his head; Dealing with some guy who ANSWERED HIS MOBILE PHONE MID-PERFORMANCE with vigour and laughs all round, as well as an impressive act to finish off a great night.

At 9pm, a select few were treated to Josh Makinda’s opening night in Midlandia’s Square Space, which I might add is a great little room for seeing comedy, set up as a comedy bar as opposed to the Rectangle Room where Chris performed which had tiered seats. Anyway, we last saw Josh Makinda as a part of the Perth International Comedy Festival, and so we went in with a little knowledge of how his show would work. A little routine, a little speaking to the audience and a little dose of the surreal. This show however was very unique, mostly improvised with only a few stories which were brought in with intent to tell. Much of Josh’s stories relate to his experience with children and their at times bizarre interpretations of race, and how this naiveté often induces cringe knee-jerk reactions from passers-by, as well as relating these stories back to the audience’s participation. I will also add, and I think he will be very happy that you now know this, he successfully guessed the occupation of a random audience member, before blurring reality with the Harry Potter universe and guessing another to be a Herbologist.

Josh tailored the performance to the crowd a great deal, and therefore it is very hard to tell you what to expect; If you enjoy seeing stand-up a la Ross Noble with bizarre sentences strung together, about you, the audience, then you should be ready to interact and be ready to laugh and enjoy the show. At one stage he skipped through a story in his head, delivering the outcome without actually explaining how he got there. Sometimes his tangential train-of-thought comedy can be a little bit like a chicken with its head cut off with a cut-off lizard’s tail with a pom pom on it attached to the chicken’s neck dusting under your couch; Entertaining, a little messy, and occasionally very haphazard. But that is his appeal.

Tickets are available here for both shows, get down and support this great venture!

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