Perth’s own Luke Bolland has finally answered a question many of us have been asking for decades: “when will there be a high concept science fiction fantasy, where characters traverse parallel universes and encounter alternate versions of themselves, set in Perth?” (Maybe it was just me?) 

Anyway, for your next comedy sci-fi fix, look not to the big screen, but to the alternate universe of FRINGE WORLD, and prepare yourself for an evening with not just one, but infinite versions of comedian Luke Boland. Luke has invented a magical remote that allows him to meet other versions of himself in alternate realities defined only by the different choices Luke made, or didn’t make, at key points in his life. 

What if he got that acting role when he was fifteen? What if he stuck to a career in radio or tried to make it as a musician? With a click of the remote, an on-stage TV screen acts as a portal into Luke’s alternate realities. These get loopier and loopier as the show progresses. 

What if he had chosen a life of crime or polygamy? What if he had hit rock bottom and as a final act of desperation signed up to be a Fringefeed reviewer? (Cheers Luke!) Oh the pain! The pain of it all! 

Each scenario is original and the banter between comedian Luke and the different Lukes works well. In between each encounter Luke plies his observational stand-up. 

As a comic Luke has a folksy, self-deprecating style that has the audience beside themselves as well. He plays to the strengths of the show’s sci-fi conceit, with well-thought-out meta-references that link the show together and get the audience together on one big in-joke. 

There is a surprising moral to all of this that comes together well at the end, but I guess you'd just have to catch it to find out.