Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reviewed Thursday 14 May 2026).
Stand up comedy is always a bit hit and miss — some people will love the material and others won’t. This show left me feeling uncomfortable that, yet again, Egyptian history is mined for audience entertainment through a mix of Hollywood clichés, sexualised humour and sensationalism. Part trivia, part historical slash fiction, Lamarque takes the audience on a whirlwind tour through Ancient Egypt with plenty of mummy puns and references designed to provoke quick laughs. Why Epstein’s face needs to appear at all remains a mystery.
Lamarque seems slightly overtaxed by the technical set-up and noticeably fills out his sentences with aaaahhs and uuhhhhhms. “Isn’t this fun?” would be the evening’s unofficial motto as he leans into the role of naughty tour guide.
For many audience members it will likely play as a harmless roast of an ancient civilisation long filtered through pop culture fantasy. Lamarque also acknowledges how much has been taken and displayed by the British Museum, though the show itself occasionally falls into a similar pattern of excavating culture for entertainment. As a proud Australian Egyptian woman, I really wanted to like this show, yet I left feeling there was a far richer and more human story waiting to be told.