Celebrating its third year, The Williamstown Literary was opened by Williamstown resident and comedy writer Shaun Micallef, festival patron Joan Kirner and Hobson’s Bay Councillor and Festival President Angela Altair.
The weekend involved panels talking about film writing, song writing, publishing and some writing workshops. There were also book club meetings, and in the evenings there were performances of ‘The Chosen Vessel’ a play adapted from a story by pioneer author Barbara Baynton. The main interest to The Groggy Squirrel readers however were the two comedy related panels.
The first of these was on Saturday afternoon. Tony Martin of ‘Martin Malloy’ & ‘The Late Show’ Fame (not to mention his film ‘Bad Eggs’ & brilliant recent novel ‘Lolly Scramble’) and Shaun Micallef of ‘The Micallef Pogramme’ and ‘Welcher & Welcher’, interviewed each other. These were highly informative session in which we learned a great deal about both comedians’ influences, their writing (they both prefer pen & paper), their take on Australian TV comedy and their fascinating encounters with Steve Vizard. They had fun recalling their early days in TV with Shaun describing sending in sketches to The Big Gig and Tony telling us about doing voices for Rubbery Figures. They also spoke a lot about their inspirational comedy writing heroes such as Spike Milligan (with Tony Martin describing an amazing week he spent chauffeuring Spike around New Zealand), Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Monty Python, The Goons, The Two Ronnies and Dick Emery. They also spoke about how sad it is that many comedy geniuses such as Spike, Peter Cook and Tony Hancock had such a rough life.
Shaun told us how the majority of Pete n Dud’s Television work has been discarded or taped over and their legacy is mostly on audio record, but he remembered that they had come to Australia and did a couple of specials for Channel 9. So while Shaun was at Channel 9 doing his, sadly short lived, tonight show he spent a bit of time down in the archives where he hunted down and found both of the Pete & Dud’s Channel 9 specials. He managed to talk Channel 9 into sending them to the UK, which means these rare examples of Pete n Dud’s live performance work will be finally made available to the general public soon.
Shaun & Tony finished their interview by performing the famous Pete n Dud sketch the one legged Tarzan audition in the Pete n Dud silly voices. Shaun played Peter Cook and Tony played Dudley Moore’s part. I could imagine them both reading the Goons scripts at home out loud as I used to also do as a teenager and doing all the voices.
The second comedy Forum was on Sunday. Denise Scott and Tracey Harvey presented “Are Women Funny?” Apparently it was a reaction to Red Symon’s article in The Age that suggested he didn’t find women funny. The forum began with Denise alone, wondering aloud where Tracey was. She proceeded to tell some stories about women in comedy, both positive and negative, describing a horror story that could happen to any comedian of appearing in northern NSW pub. In this instance Denise was told she wouldn’t need to perform, it was just an autograph signing. However, when she got to the venue they expected her to do her Big Gig ‘over the fence (double) act’, alone, with no one to talk to, in front of rowdy, drunk, abusive and mostly male nightclub patrons.
Denise assured us that although things seem to have improved, female comedians still suffer prejudice against their sex, she recalled a couple of real incidents from this year’s festival. She was standing looking at the Festival board to see who had sold out etc when a mixed gender group of Festival punters gathered around the Festival board trying to decide which show they should see. Pretty soon a guy in their group said, “I don’t mind what we see as long as there isn’t a chick in it.” She also told of congratulating a fellow comedienne after her fabulous performance, only to have her reply that it was shit. Thinking that the lady was being self-deprecating Denise assured her that the show had been brilliant, upon which the performer burst into tears. Apparently a male audience member front and centre spent the entire performance whispering sexist insults at her, calling her fat and whore and so on. Denise was just starting a story relating to Linda Gibson’s cancer when Tracey Harvey exploded into the room dressed as a superhero she called “Super Funny Woman” or SFW for short. I’m not sure how rehearsed this was but it was very funny timing and we went from the serious discussion of funny females to the wacky. She explained how she traveled the globe celebrating the comic talents of women. Then in celebration of women and Mother’s Day, she invited all the mothers to join her in removing their clothes and celebrating their womanhood. Suddenly she was stripping off her costume and bolting round the room totally naked then out the door to the great alarm of the little old ladies of the Williamstown Historical Society. She returned to be robed like a triumphant warrior in a big dressing gown. Angela Altair who had gone out after her, said gleefully of the society ladies “You should have seen their faces!”
Denise had been left rather dumbfounded on stage not quite knowing how to follow that, when Tracey returned they both sat on the edge of the stage and had an informal chat and answered questions.
They were asked about their comedy Heroines. Denise said she isn’t that au fate with the history of comedy, not being a TV watcher but does remember seeing Joyce Grenfeld live when she was nine and being rapt at her story telling. Tracey Harvey said she was a fan of Lucille Ball. It’s easy to see how these influences made their mark on the storyteller Denise and the more physically silly Tracey.
Talk of Tracey’s exploits that afternoon have since become a regular feature of the back page of The Age. I look forward to next years Festival and wonder if anyone can top her!
For more information go to the Williamstown Literary Festival website