Steen Raskopolous: I’m Wearing Two Suits Because I Mean Business

Steen Raskopoulos was my favourite Melbourne International Comedy Festival performer in 2013.

The Sydney-based performer won himself a place on MICF’s best newcomer shortlist last year with his show Bruce SpringSTEEN Live in Concert! and deservedly so.

In the year since last year’s MICF, Steen’s career has continued to go from strength to strength with appearances on SlideShow and a starring role on ABC2’s This is Littleton.

Nevertheless, going into his show on Saturday night was nerve-wracking. Could he pull out an equally genius show in 2014? Could he (dare I ask) even do better?

Thankfully, this is an absolutely brilliant show by a master of the one-man sketch. Steen comes armed with a raft of new ideas, gives some of his characters from last year a second outing and commits to every role like the consummate comedy professional that he is.

Reliant on audience participation and some improv (he is the youngest ever national theatresports champion), Steen’s undeniable likeability means people are more eager than usual to jump on stage and help him out, or in my case, have the piss taken out of them mercilessly.

No one (and I mean no one) escapes this show unscathed, with Steen using the audience to the best of his ability and by the end he’ll literally have everyone in the whole room on their feet – even the most participatory-challenged.

Some of the characters this year include aggressive businessman Toby Zegamo, a Greek priest who enjoys film reviewing and a failed but undeniably gorgeous Olympian. Remember kids: slip, slop, slap (you’ll get that last reference if you see the show!).

But the aspect that most astounded me about this show is that the name I’m Wearing Two Suits Because I Mean Business isn’t just an excuse for an hilarious poster (my favourite of the festival) but a thread that runs through almost every sketch.

And in an amazing show of memory, despite everything going on both on and off the stage, he manages to include some classic call-backs to wrap things up nicely, before transitioning into one of the best finales to any show I’ve seen this year.

Keep your eyes on Steen, guys. He’s the blisteringly hot new star of Australian comedy and he’s only going to get bigger.