Charlotte Thornton reviews Paul Ego: Stick, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 11 June 2026.
You’ve been hearing Paul Ego’s voice for 17 years. Since 2009 he’s been a regular team captain on 7 Days and the voice of Stickman for PAK’nSAVE, bridging a gap between the underfunded arts field and the lucrative advertising industry that most of us can only dream of. He’s 60 now and hasn’t done many live shows since he won the Billy T Award back in 2000. Stick is his first solo tour ever, though he hasn’t returned to the comedy circuit because he had some high-concept production up his sleeve. Yes, there’s an enigmatic title – Stick, a nod to his role as Stickman – but he tells us early on that “there’s no theme,” the show is just an hour of stand-up. And it’s a very good hour.
Ego is terrific on stage. It’s as if no time has passed. His set is much like the recent emcee work at the Town Hall from his 7 Days colleague Dai Henwood: warm, comfortable, daddish. Ego tells us about his lovely wife and their sons, and their sons’ girlfriends, and the bizarre living situation they’ve all found themselves in. As much as he pokes fun at his sons’ supposed haplessness, his genuine love for them shines through. Makes sense, since the show relies on his own supposed haplessness.
Stick is split into two roughly equal halves with a 10-minute break. This is always a great call. It lets the audience stretch their legs and get a drink, gives the comedian a bit of a breather, and throws some more well-earned dollars at the venue (here, the cozy but wonderful Little Andromeda).
Both halves of Stick (twigs?) are solid, but a touch imbalanced. The first half feels like a very tight Comedy Festival set; Ego gets his baldness, his fame, and his height out of the way early. The crowd gasps at the revelation that Ego is 6’5”, with someone near the front even exclaiming “shit!”
But where the first half is tight, the second half wanders. It contains longer stories: most of them a bit too long, some of them surprisingly grisly. The most gruesome story has a shiver-inducing punchline which almost brings the mood down, though Ego does well to make himself the butt of the joke.
This is a strength of Ego, despite his ironic name. He is always good-natured and lets himself be the fool, whether it’s about parenting, or ageing, or his self-proclaimed “C-list” celebrity status. My favourite part of the show is Ego’s story of getting the Stickman job, a gig too easy and too fruitful to feel real, which has made him very famous with primary schoolers. Unsurprisingly for a man with 17 years of Stickman experience, Ego is very good at the Stickman voice. It still makes kids smile, and here it makes adults cackle with delight at a well-deserved Woolworths roast.
The adults in question are almost all Gen X, which leaves some marriage jokes out of my Gen Z understanding, but Ego plays perfectly to his target demographic. The sold-out crowd absolutely adores the show. It’s great to see the old-fashioned hour format work so well; as it turns out, Stick needs no shtick.
Stick is cheeky and genuine, a lovely way to spend a bit more time with a comedian we’ve only heard through their airwaves. If anyone from the advertising business catches the show, I hope they see that great things happen when you hire real people.
Paul Ego: Stick plays again at Little Andromeda Sunday 14 June 2026, but it’s sold out… Keep an eye on Paul Ego’s website for more dates.
Flat City Field Notes 