Mark Silcox The Successful Gold Trader

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https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/mark-silcox-the-successful-gold-trader/

Date Reviewed: 23/03/2026

What is Gold? What is Gold Trading? And everything gold related. Strap yourselves in for an hour of endless facts by ex-chemist and qualified teacher, Dr Mark Silcox, who can explain all the differences, and you can be sure it could help your team one day to pub trivia success.

The scene is set as you take your seats to The Flying Lizards’ catchy track “Money.” Preparing the audience for what is yet to come, the promise is clear: a former academic with a newly discovered financial alchemy, a man who turned £500 into a 100% return in a single quarter. We’re here, we assume, for the secrets. For the methodology that began to yield significant results. However, if you blink, you will miss it.

What we get, initially, is a lecture slideshow of the everyday. With a somewhat charming yet deadpan delivery, Silcox shares insight into his life, family and what led him to where he was today. For the first fifteen minutes, the show feels less like a comedy festival offering and more like a continuing education course you accidentally walked into. It’s not uninteresting; however, it’s a slow crawl to the main objective of all things gold.

Just as the audience begins to wonder where we are headed in the midst of gold, the ice is broken with audience participation, a tactic by its very nature, that will change from night to night. The more we give to the show, the more you will get out of it. On my evening, it was a joyful volunteer who became the unlikely protégé in a fact-expanding session. Here, finally, the continuing education finds its groove. The awkward silences, the meticulous explanations with back-and-forth banter, reveal Silcox’s unwavering commitment to inform the audience.

Without giving away the ending, the sporadic facts return with a vengeance. How much can you remember? It’s clever in concept, but in practice it does feel like a rushed exam after a semester of mismatched priorities. The insights into his trading methodology that supposedly one might come for? Blink and you will miss it.

Dr Mark Silcox is a unique performer with a calm, dry persona, and The Successful Gold Trader buries its comedic lead under a mountain of background research. I give this performance three stars as it does leave you wanting his personal anecdotes to be explored in more detail. However hats off to the commitment, the moments the gold finally starts to glitter and for the pub trivia ammunition you’ll leave with, if not the financial wisdom you came for.

Reviewed by Sandra Lee