After officially gaining his Australian citizenship last year, British-born comedian Mark Butler thinks he’s got us Aussies down pat.  And, for the most part, he’s right.  While the predominantly Aussie crowd (with a couple of Americans, a few Brits and a Canadian thrown in) took a little while to warm to him, once Butler reached storytelling mode they were completely drawn in.

A mixture of straight-up jokes and slow-burn anecdotes, the highlights of Butler’s show are most certainly the stories.  With unique tales just a bit out of the ordinary, Butler is a natural storyteller.  His tone remained warm and friendly, making him come across as relatively inoffensive, even when asking the youngest audience member, who was at the ripe-old age of fourteen, whether he knew what “skullfucking” was.  (He didn’t then, but I’m pretty sure he does now).

At times, some of the material was a little unoriginal, as commonly seen when international comedians decide to comment on our local culture.  However, Butler was spot on with many of his observations, some hitting a little closer to home than others.

He may now be one of us, and no longer a “little Pommy bastard”, but Mark Butler is certainly a funny fellow, and I’ll certainly never be able to listen to Pachelbel’s Canon with a straight face again.