LENNY BRUCE: 13 DAZE UN-DUG IN SYDNEY 1962
A few years back stand-up comedian Louis C. K, who turns unspeakable thoughts into hugely popular shows, sold-out his Sydney show in minutes. But in 1962 Lenny Bruce, hipster comedian and political-satirist, was banned from performing in Sydney after only one show deemed too blasphemous and obscene.
“Lenny pioneered confessional stand-up that looks at uncomfortable truths in society like politics, race and sex,” says playwright Benito Di Fonzo of his titular character, played by actor Sam Haft.
Lenny Bruce: 13 Daze Un-Dug in Sydney 1962 is a surreal investigation of the attempted 1962 tour of the pioneering U.S. comedian who spent 13 days trapped in Kings Cross, searching for jazz, drugs, companionship and a stage.
Lenny Bruce may have paved the way for the likes of Louis C.K to challenge cultural mores and preoccupations but Benito Di Fonzo says his work is more than in-your-face comedy. “He wrote with rhythm in mind, playing with the musicality of language, like the jazz musicians and beat poets of his day. He created a kind of word-jazz, only his instrument was his microphone.” (CN)
Apr 10–May 4, The Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi, $21-35, 1300 241 167, rocksurfers.org
