Accordion Ryan's Pop Bangers

The Lab at Fool's Paradise

WINNER – Best Cabaret & Variety Show – FRINGE WORLD Perth 2025
WINNER – Spirit of the Fringe – Reykjavík Fringe Festival 2024

Thu, 20 Feb - Sun, 02 Mar
 M15+ (3 Warnings)

Ryan Simpson, aka Accordion Ryan, is a helluva funny guy! New Jersey born, currently residing in Vienna, Austria, Simpson brings a wealth of street entertainment brilliance to this show- busking, you survive simply by engaging passersby and holding their attention. However, Accordion Ryan is much more than simply a streetwise entertainer! Simpson is an maestro accordionist who leverages his skill on the instrument as a foundation for sharp, witty comedic engagement with his audience. The show I attended on Sunday evening was underattended, but this did not deter Accordion Ryan from cavorting and leaping around with great abandon to connect with his multigenerational audience to make the show" our show, our space. This is a "get involved, sing along” show and even with a small audience it was impossible not to get caught up in the show! - my fifteen-year-old niece loved it and sang along enthusiastically; a smile never left either our teen or sexagenarian faces! I won't list the songs here; suffice it to say there's a range of pop classics, iconic Aussie chart toppers, bawdy tunes and originals, all worthy of getting your pipes warm for! Is the rejuvenated Fools' Paradise on Victoria Square the best venue for this show? Perhaps not. But there is no choice in this. The Fringe assigns venues, and this Guy in the Foyer can't help thinking this guy would kill it in the Garden or Gluttony! So, as the great Molly Meldrum would say, " Do yourself a favour!" Go! See it!