Zoltan Illes Brings BIO-LOGICAL to the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2026

Zoltan Illes will bring BIO-LOGICAL to the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2026. Performances will be held Upstairs at the Duke of York Hotel. Performances run 20 February - 7 March.

Did you know what undiagnosed STDs can cause mental disorders? Or which wild animals can be gay? Or anything about duck penises? Zoltan Illes, a former international biology teacher turned comedian, will answer all these questions and more in BIO-LOGICAL, playing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2026.

BIO-LOGICAL is the debut stand-up show from Zoltan (real name) as he intertwines his nomadic, globe-trotting life as a clueless American with biology facts that were definitely not taught in school. Zoltan has lived in 16 countries and visited many more. Along the way, he’s loved cats, immersed himself in local cultures, waded in the dating pool, taught biology, and gotten old (did we mention the cats).

Zoltan has traded his classroom for a stage to not only entertain but to educate. He is an avid animal lover and volunteers at animal shelters when he can, in addition to donating to charitable causes (when he can afford to). BIO-LOGICAL will include virtual interactions, visual aids, and at the end of the show, animals available for adoption at the Animal Welfare League of South Australia will be displayed with an added bonus of a silly back story for each.

BIO-LOGICAL will debut at The Duke of York Hotel for Adelaide Fringe Festival, with a portion of ticket sales being donated to the Animal Welfare League of South Australia. Tickets on sale now.

About Zoltan Illes

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Zoltan joined the army at 19 and worked as an army medic, driving ambulances and working in the ER. After being discharged, Zoltan studied at Texas State University, working part time at the local emergency room.

After receiving his college degree, Zoltan returned to California where he worked teaching medical assisting. Following this he taught biomedical sciences at a high school in San Diego. 

After 5 years of teaching in the US, he travelled and taught high school biology internationally in 7 countries, including Morocco, Kosovo, St Lucia, Myanmar, China, Slovakia, and Turkey. Zoltan has visited over 60 more countries and, along the way, accumulated hilarious anecdotes. While in Turkey, he turned these experiences into a stand-up comedy routine, winning his first open mic competition. Since then, he’s been honing the craft of comedy by performing all over the world, including in Hungary, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Zoltan loves honest humour and specialises in biological jokes (especially things you were never taught in school) mixed with everyday topics, such as dating, teaching, family, aging, travel, and love of animals. 

Australia - Adelaide Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. BONNIE AND CLYDE (The Arts Theatre)

23.6% of votes

2. COME FROM AWAY (The Arts Theatre)

23.6% of votes

3. BILLY ELLIOT (Northern Light Theatre Company)

17.8% of votes

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