COMEDY: FEAR OF A BROWN PLANET

“It’s a play on Fear of a Black Planet, which was a massive album by Public Enemy … all about race and politics,” says Aamer Rahman, one half of Fear of a Brown Planet. They’re not a scandal-stirring hip hop outfit – although they’re not averse to tackling difficult topics. “Australia doesn’t have a culture of speaking about racism, or hearing from artists who are not white,” Rahman notes, “We’re extremely diverse as a nation, but that hasn’t translated into things like television, entertainment and politics.” In the context of a comedy show, some people don’t get it. We chat about the one negative review I managed to find on Brown Planet, “I don’t think he understood the show, I think he thought people felt alienated or victimised because of the colour of their skin, but I think that was a pretty ridiculous review …” This kind of knee-jerk response is one in a room of overwhelming applause. “People come up to us and say, ‘We’ve been dying to hear anything like this,’” says Rahman – all the browns, yellows, pinks and even whites out there sick of  whitewashed media content. “We’re not trying to be controversial,” muses Rahman, “But just because of the context in Australia … it ruffles feathers when it really shouldn’t.” And that, is the real point.

Apr 27-May 1, The Fusebox @ The Factory, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville, $20-24, 9550 3666, factorytheatre.com.au