25 years after being launched on an unsuspecting Australian comedy scene, Austen Tayshus still has the comedic energy that made him so popular in the ’80s and ’90s. Although the audience consisted of about 75 people, Tayshus played to them with the same enthusiasm he might have had were he playing a show to hundreds at Crown casino.

Tayshus kept up a good flow throughout the night, each joke and jibe leading the way for the next, as he poked fun at Greeks, Malaysians, real estate agents, film-makers, and especially Aussies. Any profession or culture represented by audience members became the subject of his jokes, but it quickly became apparent that this was the wrong type of audience to appreciate those jokes for what they were. Tayshus often tried to goad audience members into participating, either through insulting or coaxing them, but the more he tried, the less of a reaction he got. The audience seemed to have gone into Tayshus’ show with no idea or only a vague idea of what to expect, and they didn’t seem to like what they saw.

At times he might have pushed the boundaries of good taste, but Tayshus was disappointed that many of his jokes were met with total silence?‚à´the audience still waiting for a punchline.

The audience seemed more responsive to Tayshus’ support act, Craig Millar, who avoided all political jokes and ‘non PC’ terms to deliver a relatively safe act.