Tassie Stands Up is an integral part of The Boag’s Draught Hobart Comedy Festival. It provides a nightly showcase of the stand up talent that Tasmania has to offer.
The format of the show comprises of five minute spots from each comedian with a larger ten minute spot from a selected performer. The short sets make the show a punchy affair with a core cast appearing most nights and other acts popping up several times over the course of the festival. Another unique feature of the show is that there isn’t an MC in the traditional sense, their job is only to introduce the night at the beginning of their spot. The job of introducing each act fell to the one preceding them. I found this to be a great way to present the talent with the up and comers alongside the veterans. This also had the added benefit of ensuring that the MC doesn’t take up too much stage time, this is a showcase for many acts, not just one.
A new addition to this year’s festival is The Gary Award, a silly award decided by the festival’s producers and given for the evening’s most memorable moment. The award came about as a result of an incident at a barbeque during the inaugural festival. Legend has it that a stray dog wandered in carrying a piece of concrete. The comedians named him Gary and played fetch with him, using the concrete! A trophy was fashioned from a small block of concrete and a toy plastic dog and the Gary Award was born.
Each evening of Tassie Stands Up closes with the performance of a song written by Josh Earl especially for the festival. “It’s weird being Tasmanian” is Josh’s way of dispelling any rumours and stereotypes the mainlanders may have of The Apple Isle. This highly amusing song pokes gentle fun at Tasmania and gets the punters singing along. Josh is accompanied by the rest of the cast who provide back up vocals, execute some dodgy choreographed dancing and general have fun.
Tassie Stands Up is a wonderful evening of stand up that is a great way to sample a wide range of comedic styles. Tasmania has been nurturing some brilliant talent, some of them who have already made a name for themselves of the mainland. The new faces appearing on this program are sure to do the same.
Tassie Stands Up is on nightly at The Venue, Salamanca Arts Centre until Friday 19th of January. The show starts at 8 pm and admission is $29 Full, $25 Concession and $18 Students. Check out Hobart Comedy for further information.