The Secret Talent Show was an hour full of surprises, as you should expect from something so secretive!

The evening was hosted by the fabulously funny clown duo of Elise Wilson and Duncan Young, who competently bumbled around the stage with the prowess of toddlers on stilts. Every bit they offered had the energy of a child sheepishly trying to tell a joke, tripping on every possible step, and yet landing with grace and momentum.

They played the job of host well; their silliness only propped up the heights of silliness each of the acts oozed, including the likes of horny-puppet burlesque, the greatest ice-skiing duo of our time but without the ice, and the Gen Z Weird Al. The highlight of the show was Will Bartolo’s mime act, which gripped the audience’s attention from the first nervous peer from behind the curtain.

Every singular movement that followed caused the audience to laugh uncontrollably, and his manipulation of suspense was masterful. On the flip side, the two acts that didn’t hit as well as they could’ve were the “spinning” act, which had a slight machismo to it that felt somewhat off within the context of the rest of the show, and a depressed Swedish Chef bit, which just had a little bit too much space to breathe.

A major factor of this show that worked surprisingly well was the crowd. The show itself prompts a good audience by being very funny and immersive (especially if you’re in the front row), but this particular audience had a 100% commitment to the world of the show, following every instruction and playing along to the very whims of the performer. They were loud, rambunctious (but polite!), and produced the exact energy that you would want at a comedy show.

All in all, The Secret Talent Show was a hilarious display from some of Australia’s silliest. For a show so secretive and classified, it’s real hard to keep quiet about it. But you didn’t hear it from me! Shhh!! It’s a secret!!!