Phil De Bondi: The Man Who Never Sleeps – A darkly funny Fringe show confronting childhood trauma, masculinity, and what the body remembers when the mind tries to forget.
Adelaide, SA | Adelaide Fringe 2026
“I move every minute I’m asleep. To everyone else, it looks like I’m fully awake.”
In Phil De Bondi – The Man Who Never Sleeps, comedian Phil De Bondi turns a rare sleep disorder into a powerful and unexpectedly funny exploration of childhood trauma and the costs of carrying unresolved harm into adulthood.
Finally diagnosed with parasomnia, De Bondi discovered his lifelong inability to rest was not just confined to his work ethic, it was hardwired. His debut solo show follows the chaos and comedy of a body that never sleeps, but using the condition not as novelty, but as a lens.
“I didn’t set out to write this show,” De Bondi said. However, having started working with writing coach, now show Director, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt: “the sections that I wanted to skim over, were the areas he was most interested in. Over time these themes became the central part of the show and I’m glad it did.”
Told through dark, heartfelt comedic storytelling, what unfolds is an hour of comedy that moves between De Bondi’s absurd sleep behaviours through deeper examinations of his life, health, and having to contend with the struggles of every day while being perpetually exhausted.
“[There’s] a subtext around the impact of domestic violence on the next generation,” De Bondi says. “And how I, a middle-aged white man, have managed to break that chain in my now wonderful life with my wife and daughters.”
Parasomnia affects just 0.5% of the population, yet De Bondi’s story resonates far beyond the condition. Phil De Bondi – The Man Who Never Sleeps speaks directly to audiences navigating physical and mental health, positive masculinity, and the inherited behaviours that ripple through families.
De Bondi says he finds he’s constantly “struggling with how hard or soft a person should be in life and as a parent. Overprotecting your kids to keep them safe and worrying you’re actually doing them harm.”
But whether you’re a parent or not, if you’ve ever fought against your own limitations and won (or lost but kept going anyway), Phil De Bondi – The Man Who Never Sleeps will be immediately relatable.
“Some parts will make you laugh, others cry, but you definitely won’t fall asleep!”, says De Bondi.
“I don’t think this story has ever been told before,” says De Bondi. “It leaves me extremely vulnerable, and that’s probably a good thing.”
Produced by Sifa Comedy, Phil De Bondi – The Man Who Never Sleeps is a show for anyone who has lived through trauma (directly or indirectly), wondered how much of the past the body continues to carry, and how to shake loose those albatrosses.
Following its Adelaide Fringe premiere, the show will tour to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April 2026.
SHOW DETAILS:
Phil De Bondi – The Man Who Never Sleeps at Adelaide Fringe 2026
20-22 Feb, 8.30 pm + 17-22 Mar, 7.15 pm (60 min)
The Balcony Bar at The Austral, 205 Rundle St, Adelaide/Tarndanya
Tickets
Themes: Men’s physical and mental health, domestic violence (referenced, not displayed), childhood trauma, sleep disorders, masculinity, parenting.
Images by Kyahm Ross:
