Peter Helliar - Snazzy

Covering everything from confusing bullying with hyperbole to being asked to appear on a certain celebrity weight-loss show, Peter Helliar’s ‘Snazzy’ is a laugh riot. His daggy, yet forceful style is a winning combination, and simply walking in a particular way across the stage has the audience in stitches.

It's when he delves into his own childhood for gems such as ‘the naughty boy house’ (the brainchild of his mother to curb his temper ) that Helliar's classically Australian style has people nodding their heads in approval. Like telling the audience how much guilt he felt by calling a peer in primary school a "chocolate crackle frizz head", simply because she had a chocolate crackle and her hair was frizzy. Bullies had, what Helliar calls a "shuffle button" in their heads, for picking on kids with the least amount of creativity whatsoever. They're simple, slightlly surreal chains of thought that strike a chord.

Helliar works the whole stage, honing material from the audience and drawing from his own life experience as a husband and father of three young children. In Helliar there is a certain subtlety, sort of a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ hoard of jokes that he keeps onhand to keep the audience entertained in every possible way. 

There is a silent laugh in his face and behind every punchline that makes the routine even funnier. Helliar gets it. He shines a light on the darker recesses of your mind and makes them okay, with barely a breath taken between jokes. Helliar’s show is non-stop laughs from start to finish.