People get suspicious of free stuff. Either they get to wondering what the catch is, or they assume that the reason something is free is that it’s crap. While loitering around Melbourne Town Hall during the Comedy Festival, I’ve been watching comedians from some of the smaller shows trying in vain to give away free double passes just to fill some seats. It’s hard. No one seems to want them.

The Kerry Packer Experience is free, but it has the benefit of a known quantity in the form of Greg Fleet, who draws a decent audience to the chair-poor Peter Cook Bar. Unfortunately, on the day I reviewed the show Fleety was 45 minutes late (and spent the last 15 minutes fobbing off phone calls from his manager asking why he wasn’t there). Partner in crime, Kieran Butler, did his best to hold the show together without him, but I got the feeling the show works better when they both get there on time.

The Kerry Packer Experience is like a low budget variety show, in which the hosts interview guests who are performing at the Festival. They are generally the same comedians trying to give away double passes out the front. You might luck upon an exciting new act (Sammy J’s ‘Backwards Song’ was a highlight for me.), but overall it’s patchy. It’s an okay way to spend an afternoon but if you live further out than zone one I wouldn’t make a special trip.