Talented stand-up comedian Adam Hills has jokes and one- liners coming thick and fast in his Clown Heart show, yet he also encourages his audience to be compassionate and to make the most of their time while alive.

Adelaide is often the butt of jokes for eastern state comedians, but Hills is a much more inclusive comedian and he softened the Cabaret Festival audience by giving away FruChocs.

He has an easy, comfortable manner and a unique ability to make an audience feel good about themselves. Racists are the targets for some appropriate attacks, and ignorant remarks by Pauline Hanson and her followers are ridiculed. Hills uses humour as part of his journey to make this a better world – especially for the disadvantaged – but he doesn’t tolerate those who make life intolerable for others.

His impression of Barnesy singing “Advance Australia Fair” to the tune of “Working Class Man” is a crowd favourite, and he has an excellent repertoire of anecdotes about parenting and the way husbands and wives sort out their differences.

Hills paves the way for social acceptance through changing attitudes on issues such as same-sex marriage and same-sex couples raising children.

Clown Heart focuses on death and living life fully: with a friend on stage, he explores how it is possible to use comedy and humour to refuse to give in to the melancholy that can be brought about by contracting a terminal disease.

The show is a life affirming belly laugh which will appeal to anyone with an open mind and a willingness to share in laughing at adversity.

Adam Hills performed for just one night at the Festival Theatre as part of the 2015 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, which continues until June 20.

 More Adelaide Cabaret Festival stories and reviews here.