Julian O’Shea’s shows are all about his special interests. Last year, his show was about Melbourne – specifically the “Unknown Melbourne” of his YouTube Channel, through which he’s built a large following over several years. This year, the focus is on World Records – in particular, the Guinness Book of World Records, first published in 1955.
His obsession
with records and record-setting was touched upon in his first show, when he
talked about the record he and a group of friends attempted for the fastest 10k
ridden on a quadricycle. This year, he goes bigger and better. And a bit sillier.
Julian
being Julian, he looks at the history of the Guinness World Records themselves –
and questions their integrity. There are records that are just facts that can never
be broken. There are records that are no longer tested; Guinness no longer
publishes gluttony records, for example. There are silly things, like the one for
throwing a paper plane around a pole for four hours – which was offered by an
audience member the night I went. And now companies can spend tens of thousands
of dollars on records like “the loudest purr by a household cat” sponsored by
Whiskas.
It's a deep
dive into a subject matter I was also obsessed with as a teenage boy, but
Julian is no longer a teenager and he’s attempted many, many records by now.
But you’ll have to see the show to find out if he’s actually achieved any of
them. It’s enough to say that at least it’s fed Julian’s desire for adventure;
he’s travelled all over the world to travel the furthest in 24 hours or to
skate at the highest altitude or live the longest day.
O’Shea is
endearingly amiable as he recounts many geeky stories - stretching all the way back to his time at
Adelaide Uni. His attempt to fact check the belief that Bob Hawke still
holds the world record for the fastest person to ever drink of yard glass of
beer might dismantle one of the core beliefs of this country – we once
had a cool Prime Minister.
Special
interest comedy shows have a high degree of difficulty; you can’t always get
people to laugh along with you as you explain your deep nerdery to them. Julian
O’Shea doesn’t seem to have that problem. He knows the extremes he goes to
might seem odd, and he’s happy for you to laugh at his success and failures.
One for
the Record Books is
off-beat and charming; there’ll be nothing else like it at the Comedy Festival
this year.
- Keith Gow, Theatre First
Julian O’Shea is one for the record books until Apr 20 – and re-running his Melbourne show every weekend as well.
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