Comedy Review - Anthony Locascio: Pappou

Wogs support wogs. 

Greek-Italian comedian Anthony Locascio shines in his heart-warming 2024 show Pappou. Pappou centres on Locascio’s relationship with his Pappou Petros; his maternal grandfather whose recent health scare led him to create an entire show in his honour.  It follows the classic Greek Australian tale of a pappou giving up everything in Greece to come to Australia for a better life -  but with a twist. Unlike most Greeks who emigrated to Australia during the Populate or Perish era, Pappou Petros was a rising soccer star. He was well on his way to becoming the top goalkeeper in Australia, until he received a pesky little lifetime ban for punching a referee in the face. 

Sydney-based Locascio started performing comedy back in 2017 with back-to-back tours in 2022 and 2023 for his shows Don’t Call Me a Wog! and Heart of Darkness. It should come as no surprise that Locascio draws deeply on his heritage as a source of comedy. Now some would say wog humour has run its course with the same old shtick about plastic-wrapped furniture and monobrows, that at this point comedians should move on to newer and fresher materials and leave wog humour back in the 20th century, but I disagree. The wog experience is just as relevant now as it was back in the 80’s when comedians like Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris, and Mary Coustas dared to bring something new to the Anglo Monoculture of the time. It’s just that the wog experience is markedly different now than it was back when wog was undoubtedly a slur. It’s up to wog comedians to adapt to the times and become trailblazers again - which Locascio absolutely understands. 

Locascio’s act was incredibly refreshing with his third-generation perspective, as well as an exploration of deeper themes like intergenerational trauma,and what it means to be an ethnic man in the 21st century. Despite all the jokes about his Pappou’s old-school mentality, his love and admiration for him truly shines through. The most touching part was his incredible vulnerability, describing how he loves his Pappou, but simultaneously acknowledging how hard it is to bond with someone who not only grew up in an entirely different world to yours, but with whom you share nothing in common - a relatable experience for any child or grandchild of migrants. These introspective moments were well peppered throughout the show, enough to ground the sincerity of his performance, without ever losing any of his comedic flow. Locascio particularly thrived when interacting with his audience; drawing them in and using them for material on the spot, especially when handling audience participation moments turned awkward. Verging on  edgy in select moments, he risked isolating a large portion of his stereotypically old-school crowd with discussions focused on gender identity and homophobia. But Locasio handled it well, turning it into an opportunity to educate the crowd in a way that did not come across as preachy or condescending. Having the delightfully risqué Jacqueline Mifsud as his opening act, whose jokes had some members of the audience clutching at their pearls, only cemented the fact that this would be a wog show like no other. 

So if you’re into acknowledging the traditional owners of Constantinople, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, mutiny, and death threats, then Pappou is the show for you. 

Follow Anthony here.