Asher Treleaven

Asher Treleaven tells The Music he recently got his first ever one-star review at the Perth Fringe Festival. Since he began his stand-up career Treleaven has been a darling of the critics and has certainly been no stranger to five-star reviews. However, this time around he's trying something new (he's even managed to work his one-star review into his show). 

Treleaven's new show Smaller, Poorer, Weaker, Cheaper is in many ways a reinvention or, maybe a reinvigoration, of his comedy. The press material for the show was released some time ago and it gives the impression that the show is a hyper-intellectual socio-political critique with a deconstruction of the economy served up on the side. However, in preparation for this show Treleaven came to the realisation that for the last few years he hadn't really been enjoying performing as much as he wanted to. Treleaven recalls watching another comic performing when he heard one of the best heckles he's heard: as the comic continued on a didactic rant a lone voice from the back yelled out, 'Stop lying to us'. In some ways Treleaven felt like this heckle related to his work. And even though he has developed a solid fanbase and has been critically successful both here and in the UK, he feels like he wanted to bring back the joy to his performances. He is performing in his smallest room ever, just 50  seats, smaller even than when he first started out. In many ways this show is an attempt to re-establish what got Treleaven into comedy in the first place. He describes the show as “silly, absurb and stupid”.

He began the tour of Smaller, Poorer, Weaker, Cheaper in Christchurch and then took the show to the Perth Fringe Festival and then to Adelaide Fringe (The Music talks to him as he picks up some fruit from the Adelaide Central market). Throughout these performances he has been crafting a new show, trying out new material and just experimenting in front of the audience. The show has dramatically shifted from night to night, with Treleaven mentioning that he is now finding “more joy” performing than he has in many years.