MAGIC COMEDY NIGHT
Christopher Hitchens might be rolling in his grave (too soon?) at the news of this night. An all-female, and more importantly, all-funny line up of comedians and magicians are here to prove that the biggest joke of all has been that a pair of boobs precluded proper funny business. Coordinator and comedienne Jenny Campbell shows us what’s up her sleeve.
What for you is the connection between magic and comedy? Both have an unexpected outcome for the audience member – the joke is funny because the comic manipulates a subject in a witty, clever or quirky way – altogether different to the way the audience member thinks about the same subject causing a ‘surprise’ response resulting in laughter. The magician manipulates recognisable objects and produces a similar ‘surprise’ response – often also in an amusing way. The two art forms blend perfectly.
Why do you think there is still a need for stage-space devoted solely to female comics? Comedy is traditionally a male domain. There is an element of the boys club which limits stage time women are given by promoters to learn their craft. Even the women running venues put more men on than women even though there are enough female comics out there to balance things out. Consequently, aspiring female comedians often drop out of the scene after a while because the only way a comic can learn their craft is in front of an audience. If there are months between gigs the steam runs out along with the enthusiasm.
Also, those who stick with it still take longer to earn their striped paint than their male counterparts because of the time between gigs. Rooms were run more professionally run 20 years ago. Now there are comedy schools popping up everywhere so there are more males competing for stage space and the female allocation has dwindled even more.
Consequently, if you don’t ‘play the game’, you don’t get on. Twenty years ago comedians were rotated equally and no-one played favourites. The Comedy Store also had a dedicated Women’s night every Tuesday. Sorry about the long answer but it’s more complicated than two lines would allow.
Can you tell us a bit about the Lady Boys who perform? This is a new idea we are premiering in our next show. A few guys have complained about the ‘all women’s night’ so we’ve decided to include men if the male comics are willing to dress up as a woman and even make their act female-centric for the night. Our first Lady Boy is Krystal Meth (Kristin Boesenberg) who often wears a spangly dress while telling jokes.
Who are some of your regulars? Our regulars are Alice Fraser, Zoe Pelbart, Christina Van Look, Vanessa Ballard and Jennifer Wong, (and yours truly).
The most impressive magic trick witnessed to date? Neo the Magician and his floating table trick. I don’t even want to know the secret behind that one. It is so beautiful and elegantly executed. Imagine a small French-style coffee table being lifted up by its table cloth and floating through the air, occasionally trying to escape from its handler in the direction of the ceiling (the comedic element of the trick). It’s lovely and leaves people awestruck.
And the best joke? I was named after my father’s favourite barmaid. I was luckier than my sister though – her name’s Bob.
Mar 2, TAP Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $12-15, tapgallery.org.au
