John Oliver

If you, as an Australian, didn't expect to be skewered by the best political commentator in the world right now at his live show, you were probably unfamiliar with Oliver's previous work.

Because it was a skewering, although one done in a delightfully poor Australian accent. It took into account our racism, mostly, but also our seeming indifference to our political process — apparently studies were done into just how many of us vote drunk, and look, the consequence was Tony Abbott.

Tony Abbott jokes are easy to make, especially to an educated crowd of mostly 20-somethings who watch Last Week Tonight religiously. But they weren't the high point of the set — the most hilarious moments were actually when Oliver put politics to the side and instead offered personal anecdotes, like his story of discovering perhaps he was more a comedian than an athlete, or when he saw a man riding a jet ski while a hurricane raged behind him: "like Icarus on a jet ski".

The show was actually opened by our very own Celia Pacquola who held her own through jokes about toe-rings and being a single woman who is comfortable being just that. "If you're happy being single, why do you wear make-up?" "I'm single. Not confident." She wasn't necessarily the most obvious choice, until Oliver too gave us insight into moments of low self-esteem; he's perfectly good at rounding up sheep, but not as good as a dog.

Oliver has a playful way with words and language: he knows where to chuck in a cheeky aside or a quip, and how to maximise laughs. He also knows that the best way to end a set is by indulging the audience in a quick Q&A, responding pithily to jeers about YEEZY2020, Donald Trump, and the immortal question: "Have you ever loved?"