Jamie Demetriou: People Day

People Day is unlike anything I’ve seen this year. The incongruous props littering the stage, and manic chatter between a cluster of lamps set a suitably weird tone for an equally weird evening. Jamie Demetriou’s frighteningly immersive comedy takes us through the next hour in the hands of four deliciously twisted characters: the timorous young musician cornered into doing comedy, the feverishly unhinged nanny, the self-righteous chorister, and the woefully pitiful absent father.  

Each character is donned with such unwavering conviction, oozing fully-realised personality that bewilders and delights, leaving other Fringe acts looking commonplace and bland. The bite-size taste of each of these nightmarish characters has you craving each story in completion, yearning for a glance of the distorted reality they inhabit. There’s a distinctly League of Gentleman quality evoked in the show’s enduring eeriness, while still retaining something distinctly Demetriou as each character only has himself to rely on.

The hour is gloriously strange and feeds off the palpable discomfort in the room. The audience interaction steers clear of the usual ‘where are you from’ banter and instead entangles unwitting front-rowers into each of the unpredictable stories, as the hour pivots between unanimous laughter and pockets of people too disoriented to fully get onboard.

This is outrageous talent from someone so young. Don’t miss out.