Arj Barker

We don’t have to be reminded by Arj Barker that he’s been around for a while, but he does remind us, quite a few times. For “the best part of 30 years”, Barker has been doing comedy and as he proved on the opening night of his Sydney Comedy Festival run at a mostly full Enmore Theatre, he is very, very good at it.

Sure jokes about millennials, mobile phones and the convenience of streaming coming from the older generation are a dime a dozen, but Barker makes sure to point out that he’s not picking on millennials. Rather, he wants to show that their experience is no different to every other generation that has come before them, mimicking Matthew McConaughey and a breathy Owen Wilson to hilariously get his point across.

“You don’t know how good you’ve got it!” he exclaimed as he related the modern-day experience to that of the Stone Age. We all laughed, but there’s a point to his silliness and that’s what makes his comedy so relatable, palatable and clever.

Without malice, Barker was able to convince us that brutal honesty is what you give to those you respect. Imparting life lessons, he proved that despite not being a parent, he would in fact make an inspirational one. Although, perhaps there is a time and place for that honesty.

The evening is punctuated with material that many a Gen Xer would appreciate, but that’s not to say the younger or older generations in the crowd didn't have plenty to relate to, although BJ And The Bear was a stretch for the Aussie crowd!

Even with the blatant attempts to sell merch and the uplifting ‘Sticker Packs’ that have been the topic of many a Barker show, the material felt as fresh as Barker’s first visit to his adopted homeland all those decades ago.

Performed as part of Sydney Comedy Festival