Fully vaccinated and motivated by the need to justify to his Jewish mother that a move from law to comedy is not the end of the world, Melburnian Michael Shafar is heading to Fringe World with his show, 110%. 

Having been denied entry to WA in 2022, Shafar is keener than ever to educate the masses upon everything from racism to vaccination to the impossibility that is folding bed sheets.

With over 60 million views online, Shafar has appeared on Network 10’s The Project and Studio 10 as well as ABC’s Comedy Bites and SBS’s Raw Comedy, and his first special A(LIVE) was recently released on Amazon Prime.

Seesaw Mag’s Greg McFerran chatted to the testicular-cancer-surviving comic to find out more. 

Greg McFerran: For Seesaw Mag readers who don’t know you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work? 

Michael Shafar: My name is Michael Shafar. I am 188cm and, at the time of publication, I weigh 83kg.

My greatest achievement is coming joint ninth in the 2004 National Spelling Competition. I misspelled the word requiem and it haunts me to this day. 

I am a comedian (allegedly) and also write jokes for a bunch of TV shows. I am also Jewish and a testicular-cancer survivor, which means I lost my foreskin and my right testicle. Sorry if that was too much information for the opening question.

GM: Tell us about your comedy show, 110%, which you are performing at Fringe World 2023.

MS: I am performing a stand-up comedy show and it’s objectively very good. It got a 4.5 star review from The Age at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and people laughed a lot. 

My oncologist came along to the show too, which was quite nerve-wracking because he spent a lot of time and resources saving my life, so I had to be funny, otherwise he would have thought, “Ugh. He wasn’t worth saving.”

But then the next morning he sent me an email that just said, “Great show, Michael. Well worth the chemo!” So I think that’s a better review than the one from The Age.

GM: What do you hope audiences will take away from 110%?

MS: I hope that audiences take away a new perspective on the world that will enrich their lives and ensure peace and harmony across all of humanity.

I also hope they take away an official Michael Shafar t-shirt which I will be selling for $25 including GST.

GM: Take us behind the scenes of 110% – what happens backstage?

MS: Generally I’m sitting behind a curtain backstage, waiting for the venue staff to let me know that the show is ready to begin. I’m usually scrolling through Instagram during this period, so if an audience member wants to say hello before the show starts, feel free to slide into my DMs and I’ll send you a free joke before we begin. This is my promise to you.

GM: Aside from your own show, what are you looking forward to doing at Fringe World 2023?

MS: Mostly eating. Outside of performing stand-up, eating is my favourite thing to do. I really like that burger place Ribs & Burgers (I pretty much eat there every night of the Festival) and I really like the café Sayers Sister. Are there any other places I should go? Sorry, I know I’m meant to be answering the questions, not posing them, but I genuinely need to know.

I am also looking forward to going back to Cottesloe beach so I can watch people swim on the opposite side of the shark net. It’s the closest you can be to seeing Darwinism in action.

GM: What is your favourite part of the playground?

MS: Fantastic question. I do like a good slide, but my favourite part would be the monkey bars. They are the perfect test of strength, courage and agility. Whenever I’m on them I feel like I’m competing on Australian Ninja Warrior.

It’s also helpful that I’m over six feet tall because it means I can keep my feet on the ground whilst crossing them. Safety first.

You can see Michael Shafar in 100% at various Fringe World venues from 20 January – 11 February 2023.

Pictured top: Michael Shafar. Photo: Monica Pronk

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