The Aspie Hour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

At last year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a joyous little cabaret was performed at The Butterfly Club. Initially with little fanfare, word of mouth soon spread making it one of the most sought after tickets at the festival. The show was The Aspie Hour and it returns for an encore season at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Written and performed by Ryan Smedley and Sophie Smyth, they share two 30 minute stories on their experiences of living with Asperger's Syndrome through their mutual love of musical theatre. The two met while studying a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) at the University of Ballarat. While they were a year apart, in their respective final years they each had to create a ten-minute cabaret that ended up being very similar. "Both were about music theatre and about our experiences with Asperger’s. They were focussed so specifically on the same issues that it just made sense when our director, Fiona Scott-Norman, suggested expanding and combining the two," they tell me.

From there The Aspie Hour was born, resulting in an extended sell out season at the comedy festival and most recently picking up two Green Room Award nominations for Best Writing and Best Ensemble for cabaret. "We certainly felt very lucky to receive so much interest, particularly as the season progressed. Sometimes when creating a show, it can take until the end of its development before the most potent themes emerge. I eventually realised the show is summed up in a lyric at the end of one of our duets: "Everyone is different, yet the same," Smedley says.

The Aspie Hour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Meet Sophie Smyth and Ryan Smedley. They both love musical theatre, they have both travelled to New York for the sole purpose of watching as much musical theatre as possible and they both have Asperger's Syndrome. In their comedy cabaret show, The Aspie Hour, the two share moments of their lives and reflect on what it's like living with Asperger's.

Even though eye contact makes them nervous and not liking physical contact with people, Smyth and Smedley seem to absolutely love being on the stage and make clear eye contact with the audience throughout, instantly creating a connection with us. Their openness and vulnerability allows the audience to better understand not only what Asperger's Syndrome is, but also how it impacts the lives of the people who have this type of autism.