After boarding the Pacific Explorer to entertain the masses in a cabaret show, COVID-19 turned the world upside down and Fairley found himself with no friends, no internet and only his phone to perform to.

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The result, a comical one-man chat show called Actual Cabin Actual Fever, was uploaded to IGTV on Instagram (when the wi-fi kicked in).

"They took off, it became viral and went all around the world, I was on CNN and I was in India, I was on British radio and The Project [in Australia]," he said.

"It ended up being a really interesting way to connect with people by doing a really bonkers TV show. It was a comedy but they [the audience] were looking at the cracks, they could see I was losing it."

From modelling a doona as couture, to heartfelt laments of other crew being repatriated (and not him), to the ghost who stole the soap from his cabin and an ode to the computer that no longer worked, Fairley put a spin on a weird situation as the world changed around him.

The powers that be at Merrigong Theatre Company loved Fairley's work and approached him to turn his theatrics into a musical comedy show.

As Luck Would Have It has morphed into an "absurdist comedy about stabilisation and grief" and is heading to the stage at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from July 27 to August 6.

During development of the work, Fairley said he nursed both his parents to death, and the premise for the laughs took a new turn and "became a much bigger story about coping".

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"I really hope that when people see it they have a really good laugh and they feel their coping over the last few years has really been acknowledged," he said.

"Although it's a play about my journey, everyone has had something happen ... we don't necessarily need to dredge it up but I think we do need to say, 'well done, good on you'."

As Luck Would Have It, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, July 27 to August 6. Suitable for ages 16 and up - contains adult themes, coarse language, gunshots, strobe lights and haze.

www.merrigong.com.au

ABOUT THE SHOW: On a mild day in March, a broken showman steps aboard a luxury cruise ship. For work. Just a little gig to pay the bills, maybe decompress a little, dust off his Hawaiian shirts, cuddle a few martinis, that kind of thing. The next day, a worldwide pandemic is declared. The ship is exiled into the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing but empty ballrooms for him to crack his jokes in. Trapped on the empty liner, he longs to escape, but the ocean has other plans.

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