In Kale Bogdanovs view, the Devil isn’t so scary. In fact, he is a bit crap. According to a sceptic and scholar who went through the Bible and counted up all the murders – God is responsible for about 30 million of them and Lucifer for approximately 10.

A former Canberrian, this 7th Day Adventist renounced his faith after acting in a glaringly contradictory play about the Bible story of Daniel and the Lion (he was the lion). The well dressed Kale, looking like a sasquatch going to a dinner party with long bushy hair and beard, took us on a highly literate, intensely philosophical and mind-alteringly cerebral – although not exactly knee-slapping funny – journey through his childhood; including his fascination with the Devil and Beelzebub’s tendency to cause diseases (as a Korean cultist believes) and tempt Jesus in the worst ways possible.

The last quarter of his act was dedicated to a personal narrative and social commentary on the virtues of knowing the Devil within. As Kale says, he resides within all of us. Slightly geeky in stature, he conducted himself nervously yet with a passion that wasn’t lost on the handful of people in the audience. Of all the acts I’ve seen over the years, his mastery of the English language was poetic and bordered on the sublime.

Regrettably, despite being a highly enjoyable show, it was thin on real laugh-out-loud jokes. Bogdanovs’ fearlessly politically incorrect and morosely dark humour would be more suited to a fringe show or similar festival. Nevertheless, if you revel in the otherwordly and quirky, perhaps having some Sympathy for the Devil is for you.

Finished reading this article? You might also like:

• James Dowdeswell – No More Mr Nice Guy
• Kale Bogdanovs is A Gentleman of Culture
• Sympathy for the Devil