Ben Darsow is one of Australia’s most exciting nationally touring standup comedians and was recently a shortlisted nominee for Adelaide Comedian of the Year 2009.
He has featured alongside Australian greats Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson, Tom Gleeson and Mikey Robbins; international superstars Arj Barker, Tom Green and Jo Koy; and at such iconic venues as Melbourne’s Comics’ Lounge and Last Laugh Comedy Club, Sydney’s Comedy Store and Laugh Garage, Brisbane’s Sit Down Comedy Club, Perth’s Comedy Lounge and Adelaide’s Thebarton Theatre and Festival Theatre.
Ben’s comedy is fresh, intelligent and well written and his sharp audience interaction and self effacing nature make him instantly likeable and very versatile.
He has presented over 30 minutes of original material on national television including two appearances on the Comedy Channel’s Standup Australia, and has performed live standup and been interviewed on radio stations including SAFM, Nova 91.9 and Fresh FM.
He has also sold out solo shows in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2009) and Adelaide Fringe Festival (2010, 2008, 2006).
Most recently Ben successfully presented his third unique solo Adelaide Fringe show ‘Just Say It’ at the ultra-cool Sugar Bar in the heart of Rundle St. He performed this 15 times to an average audience of 52 each show and also to very complimentary reviews from both The Advertiser and The Adelaide Theatre Guide, both indicators of the tangibly growing hometown interest in Ben’s comedic talents.
Earlier in his career, Ben registered outstanding success in several searches for emerging talent. He won the South Australian final and reached the national final of Triple J’s Raw Comedy (2004), reached the national final of FHM magazine’s Search for Australia’s Funniest Man (2005), and also won the South Australian final of Rove’s Search for Australia’s Funniest Undiscovered Comedian (2007).
Ben is a positive minded, genuine and friendly person who leads a very active and balanced life. He has played several years of elite level basketball (Woodville Warriors) and golf (Kooyonga Golf Club) and completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Corporate Finance and Marketing majors) from the University of Adelaide. Ben recently purchased his first home in Plympton, Adelaide and a brand new shiny green Mazda 2 buisness car which can be seen all logo’d up driving around Adelaide!
From playful and carefree beginnings, Ben’s standup comedy has organically developed over the past 8 years into a now fully focussed business. He has a steadily growing national profile and reputation for professional work, and he is very bookable as a feature act or MC, or for any other role where quality humour is required.
