My previous introduction to Jeromaia Detto was paying $10 in Gluttony to see a variety act where he ran around dressed as a nurse diagnosing the audience. It was incredibly silly, and a lot of fun – so when the opportunity arose to watch him in the middle of his creative process, I jumped at the chance. And what a process it is.

A Work in Progress is openly marketed as such – Detto trying out an incredibly broad Italian stereotype (complete with leather loafers, incredibly tight pants, and chest hair) leading the audience through a selection of bits on Love – poor Giuseppe doesn’t know what being in love is like! There are extended sections dedicated purely to audience participation, and Detto drags these moments out, finding a clear degree of personal pleasure in the extension of the bit. It is a testament to his memory, the amount of audience answers he’s able to call back later gets some of the strongest laughs of the show. 

A recurring bit is his fascination with musical bits; Detto enters to a jaunty italian ditty, he uses classic pop songs as instructions for more audience participation, and he sings multiple times. I have to stress that the majority of this show is Detto poking and prodding audience sensibilities; it is lucky he’s so disarming. Even when the joke is about an audience member’s response, it never feels pointed or mean – Detto is as much the butt of the joke as they are. 

Now, one thing you should never do at a comedy gig is sit in the front row, especially if you don’t want to be incorporated into the show. Goes double here. A personal highlight for me was being dragged on stage (I’m a good sport) as part of Guiseppe proving he would be a good father – so, dressed in fake nappy and bonnet, I dutifully read a bedtime story and cried on command. I hope the audience enjoyed it, it would feel wrong to review my part – but the audience were loving “dad”.

Detto comes to the fringe every year, and his work is a wonderful silly mess that ought to be seen to be believed. I hope Giuseppe finds love at a later festival.