The premise for Phill Cowie’s Lower Ur IQ went something along the lines of ‘hey, everything’s so damned serious these days, wouldn’t it be great to be just a little childish again?’. Personally, no. I like being all grownzded up, and would get quite pissed at anyone who took it upon themselves to pull my pigtails and whine “Nurh Nurh Nuh Nurny Nuh” at me, but each to their own. That said, many a childhood has been mined for the nuggets of Comedy Gold it produces, and Adelaide Funnyman Phill Cowie’s own childhood experiences proved to be no less fruitful. Or, in the case of one particularly-memorable annecdote, vegetable. Corn, to be precise.

Cowie kicked his set off with an absolutely hilarious photo montage which served to both warm up and thoroughly endear his audience. Comedians are, by nature, not afraid to look foolish for the sake of their art—provided it gets a laugh. Cowie’s opening efforts were delightful, and genuinely funny. Upon reflection, it probably served the purpose of softening us up for the main act, considering his jokes were not exactly PG-13 material!

The show covers not just childhood (and adulthood) pranks, but also the ever-funny world of sex and relationships, masculinity, and having a mortal fear of spiders. It also features hilarious cameos by Curtis-the-sound-guy and Phill’s Mum, and Cowie seems to particularly enjoy having someone to interact with on stage. He also enjoys including the audience, but don’t fear — audience participation is not compulsory.

Local comedy may lack the sex and polish of the big-name international acts, but Cowie reminds us of a young buck by the name of Will Anderson, back in the day. Make the effort to support your local scene as well during the Fringe: it makes you seem like more of a hipster than everybody else!

Thanks for the fairy bread.

Lower Ur IQ is showing March 10-14 and March 17-21 at 9.40pm upstairs at the Griffin’s Head.