Fans of SBS’s Pizza will be familiar with Tahir Bilgic who plays Habib on the cult program. Tahir’s Turkish background gives him a different angle on the comedy scene, and I hoped that Live and Circumcised would offer a fresh perspective on ‘ethnic’ humour, particularly as the genre seemingly peaked in the ’80s and early ’90s with the work of Nick Giannopoulos, Mary Coustas and the like.

The evening began with former Giannopoulos cohort Simon Palomares. He skillfully worked the room, showing how laughing at people’s differences could unite them, regardless of background. This gave his routine relevance and depth. It’s a shame then that the same could not be said for the main attraction.

Tahir entered to an enthusiastic response. It’s clear he has many fans and an unstructured act that relied heavily on audience participation. This could have worked if Tahir possessed the wit or likeability to playfully engage with his audience, but sadly he did not. The night’s low point came when he stormed into the audience and rather aggressively interacted with a nine-year-old boy, leading one punter to accuse him of bullying.

Tahir retreated back on stage and attempted some jokes. These too often fell flat. His observation that the recent trials of Schappelle Corby and Michelle Leslie received such abundant media coverage because, ‘They’re hot,’ was hardly revealing.

He may be funny on Pizza, but on this occasion, Tahir failed to deliver.