Review: Teacher Comedy Night at Astor Theatre

Teacher Comedy Night at Astor Theatre
Thursday, April 23, 2026

B+ Good Effort.

Celebrating and commiserating education together, a group of teachers, aides and principals gathered at Astor Theatre on Thursday, 23 April, for Teacher Comedy Night, part of the Perth Comedy Festival 2026 lineup. As a retired high school teacher turned comedian, Daniel Delby knew exactly how to work the room and had plenty of teacher-specific humour that landed well.

Daniel Delby was fun and relatable, with jokes that clearly hit home for the teacher-heavy audience. Some of the best moments came from his quick crowd work. After a loud shout-out from the primary school teachers, he responded with “That sounds like hope” before comparing it to the much more subdued high school teachers. He also nailed the classic teacher habit of audiences automatically raising their hands when asked a question—an instant giveaway that the room was full of educators.

His use of teacher jargon was one of the strongest parts of the show, with lines like “Tonight’s learning objectives are to laugh, turn on your listening ears, and feel good about teaching” getting plenty of laughs. His mini-musical improv, singing “A is for Admin, A A A”, was another standout, along with jokes about team teaching jealousy—when one teacher ends up being far more popular than the other. His observations about acronym overload and confusion between states were also painfully accurate for anyone in education.

However, Delby could do with choosing better classmates for the group project. His comedy guest Jon Pinder, while likely funny in a general comedy lineup, did not fit the school-based comedy brief. Joking primarily about elderly mine workers, Pinder felt like a bird in the classroom—distracting and out of place. Surely Delby could find another comedian with school-relevant humour (Ben Knight and Ty Gray come to mind) or even one of the many parenthood-focused comedians?

The inclusion of questionable primary school art projects and the audience’s own horrifying classroom stories added a fun, communal feel to the night, and he wrapped things up with an impressive impromptu rap based on the stories shared.

Overall, Daniel was uplifting, encouraging, and genuinely engaging. His warmth and understanding of the profession made the night feel like a celebration of teaching rather than just a comedy set. That said, the stand-up comedy section itself could be extended with longer-form storytelling to give the night more substance. At only 60 minutes, it didn’t quite feel long enough to justify a full night out.

An enjoyable show with plenty of laughs for teachers—good effort, but definitely room for growth.

MELISSA MANN