Dylan Moran

In jeans and a suit jacket, armed with a glass of red, cult hero Dylan Moran stormed the stage with a cheeky, child-like grin in tow. For a man who made him a name for himself as a miserable drunk on Black Books, the infectious grin seemed somewhat out of place, but didn’t reduce the impact of sinister jabs and nearly everything and everyone — starting with the monotony of Perth and the “visionary” that is Tony Abbott, and continuing the topical trend by moving in on the bust of the mining boom.

It became apparent quite early that Australia’s current political climate has indeed made us somewhat of a laughing stock to the rest of the world, with the Irish-native pointing out his homeland somehow beat us when it came to legalising same-sex marriage.

At 43, his journey into middle age took precedence for a majority of the set, and anyone under the age of 25 took an onslaught of abuse.

Moran may have given up smoking, gone vegetarian and gained some weight (European fat, not US fat — he made that quite clear) since his last trip to Australia, but his dry wit and slurred domineer remain well intact, and if his demented take on 50 Shades Of Grey turns into its own best-selling series and film, god help us all.