The pair have used their diagnoses of Asperger’s Syndrome, and the wealth of experiences that has entailed, as fodder for their own cabaret show.

The duo, both graduates of Federation University’s Arts Academy, co-wrote The Aspie Hour for last year’s Ballarat Cabaret Festival and next month it will make its big-city debut as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Ms Smyth said taking the show to MICF was a little daunting and overwhelming, but she was looking forward to seeing the reaction of a different audience.

“When we did the show in Ballarat I don’t think either of us comprehended the sort of response we were going to get, particularly from people in the autistic community,” Ms Smyth said.

“It was overwhelming, in a good way, to speak to people about their experiences on the spectrum and how they felt seeing it talked about and up on stage.”

Ms Smyth and Mr Smedley wrote the cabaret show about their experiences and navigating everyday life with Asperger’s through their joint love of musical theatre.

In The Aspie Hour,  Mr Smedley shares memories of his solo journey to New York and travelling on your own, while Ms Smyth collects replica film outfits and frames her life as a musical to explore her psychological issues. Together they misread social cues, recall obscure musical theatre facts, debunk myths about Asperger’s and redefine what it is to be an Aspie.

There have been a few minor rewrites and tweaks to the script, and some cuts to ensure it stays within the one-hour show limit at The Butterfly Club where they will perform for MICF.

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Particularly satisfying for Ms Smyth, who was not diagnosed until she was 13, is the number of young girls who have seen the show.

“I’m particularly passionate about the girls on the spectrum. A lot of the time they are completely misdiagnosed, or it’s missed, or girls present their symptoms differently, so it’s not widely recognised.”