Comic to make a trip to remember

Since the only thing comedian Akmal Saleh can remember from his last visit to Geraldton is that the hotel gave him free biscuits, the funnyman is hoping to do a little more sightseeing this time around.

And this time will be scheduled around his appearance at the Queens Park Theatre on Tuesday night.

The Egyptian-born comedian has performed in Geraldton several times during his career but admits it’s not a place he can remember well.

“I remember they have roads and I’ve also noticed they have an ocean, which means they probably have sharks,” he joked.

“But seriously, you don’t get much time to sight-see on tour but going to WA is like going overseas because they’re so different to the rest of Australia.”

Akmal also commented if you saw the show on his last visit, you would be in for a surprise this time around.

“If I impressed you last time, then I might not even change a word, because obviously that worked,” he laughed.

During his career, Akmal has performed in film, television and as a regular radio talk show host, and has written a book.

But from his list of performances, there is one that has stuck in his mind for some time.

“I was once stupid enough to tour with a bunch of male strippers and as a 5 foot 6 inch, slightly overweight comedian, it was probably not the best plan,” he said.

“There was this one show in Wangaratta I remember really well. There was a room full of drunk, rowdy middle-aged ladies who just wanted to see naked men.

“And within 30 seconds of being on stage, they were throwing their cups at me and chanting ‘boring’ — I almost had to strip just to save myself.

“So these days, instead of taking my pants off, I just tell jokes.”

So now audiences know they won’t be treated to a strip show, Akmal did give The Sauce a bit of an insight into the material he hoped to use.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he laughed.

“I just tend to make things up as I go along and feed off the crowd, which in the case of Wangaratta is never a good idea.

“But in Geraldton, it’s going to be a bit like a blind date —hopefully we’ll meet and hit it off right away.”

Akmal will perform at the QPT on Tuesday from 8pm with tickets on sale for $46.90 for adults, $42.90 for concession/members of the theatre and groups of more than 10.

To book, phone the QPT box office on 9956 6662.