one4review | On 26, Aug 2026

Lachlan Werner is under hypnosis on stage. His puppet, Brew the Witch, is determined for us not to wake him. Unfortunately, Werner is far too funny for that premise to survive contact with an audience.
The greatest pleasure of Sleeper Hit is simply watching Werner and Brew interact with each other and the room.
Their three-way interplay is exceptional: Brew insults Werner, Brew insults us, Werner attempts to reason with her, and each becomes the other’s straight man. Werner can generate consistent laughter from this relationship alone.
I should admit that I don’t like puppets.
Werner was therefore working at a disadvantage, compounded by a 12:50am start. Yet a pretty substantial crowd had gathered, and it quickly became obvious why: Werner is an incredibly funny comedian, with or without Brew.

Several brilliantly individual sketches are woven through the show. A frat boy has sex before wondering whether it makes them gay; an office worker continually falls in love; and a posh English comedian with glasses and a slight lisp reassures us that he is safe. These are all every boy as funny as they are weird.
Werner is also remarkably vulnerable. While he remains “unconscious”, Brew invites the audience to ask him anything and promises to answer honestly on his behalf.
The final sketch is stranger than the others, but its left-field specificity makes it fascinating as well as funny. These scenes could potentially form a stronger narrative thread, particularly if their job-interview connections were curved back into the show’s conclusion.
I cannot remember seeing another comedian expose themselves to an audience quite like this. The section could gain additional texture if Brew occasionally questioned the audience members in return, but its bravery is undeniable.
As the show unfolds, Werner explores his lifelong relationship with Brew before literally dismantling the puppet and examining where she ends and he begins.
It challenges the limits of ventriloquism, using the puppet not merely as a comic character but as an externalised part of Werner’s subconscious.
Sleeper Hit still needs tightening, with a clearer through-line connecting its sketches, audience interaction and final revelation. Its opening instruction that laughter will wake Werner creates immediate tension, but the audience laughs so relentlessly that the rule inevitably collapses.
Nevertheless, Werner ties the show together with considerable skill. He is vulnerable, intelligent and clearly committed to pushing his form somewhere new. His sketches are superbly written, completely individual and consistently hilarious. As the show reaches its conclusion I’ve accepted that Lachlan Werner is a startlingly funny original talent. He’s pushing ventriloquism somewhere brilliantly new, again I do not line puppet shows.
Take away the puppet and the excellent sketches and he would still be an excellent comedian.
The fact that he made someone who dislikes puppets enjoy a puppet show may be his most impressive trick.
For the left field fan this is a must see!
****
Reviewed by Steve H
00.50 to 01.50
Monkey Barrel 2
Until 30th