The Balmoral Hotel is a great comedy venue, and as we quickly finished our pub dinner and made our way upstairs, my friend and I realised we’d be in the front row because 10 minutes before the show, the room was packed.

Having not seen He Huang’s stand-up show live before, I quickly realised she has built a strong following in our city. The crowd spanned generations and cultures, and as Huang took to the stage, she had the ease of a seasoned comic.

There is a relaxed quality to her stage persona that makes her jokes land like a well-delivered punch line in a chat with your mates. Likewise, you remain sure that the thing you offer in response to her question, might quickly become fodder for the next punchline—nothing is sacred, just like being roasted by your nearest and dearest.

Huang journeyed through places and time periods, with dry irreverence. Her conversational tone was akin to that of a high school friend who’s travelled heaps since you last saw them, but you’re only hearing their most unbelievable travel anecdotes. Stories of roasted bush rats in Kenya, an extreme haircut in China and a brief foray in backpacking Thailand in her 30s had us all laughing.

In ‘Tiger Daughter vs. the World’ Huang positions herself in the centre of the narrative and looks at the experiences that have shaped her, and the situations she has found herself in all over the world as a result. Being a new show, some jokes landed perfectly, and some might need to be honed a bit more, but all of them had me impressed with her comedic voice and her approach to delivery.

If you’ve seen He Huang in one of her many TV appearances, her live comedy is even better! If you like observational, self-referential humour and you’re not afraid to laugh at yourself—get out to see He Huang’s ‘Tiger Daughter vs. the World’ this FRINGE WORLD Festival.