Lawrence Leung talked to The Groggy Squirrel about why people should attend his Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) show, Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance, the sexiness of blokes in neck braces and why he’s not nice.
Darlene Taylor: It has been claimed that a cute and cuddly school of comedy has emerged in recent years (“Tickle Me Elmo” College), which seems to be dominated by inoffensive boys with the ability to take the piss out of themselves. What is your opinion of this development, and do you think audiences care whether comedians are nice or not?
Lawrence Leung: I always thought Tickle Me Elmo convulsed like a crack addict. Not so cute. Bad influence on the kids.
A “cute and cuddly” form of comedy? Whether it’s an idea invented by a newspaper journalist, a comedy room or is a genuine movement, I don’t know. I do hope I’m not part of any particular movement, I just do what I think is funny to me and hope the audience thinks so too. I don’t think I’m nice. I used to torture ants under a microscope and pour salt on snails just to watch them melt like the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Of course, it was for scientific research.
A lot of my comedy is awkward or obsessive, rather than nice. I’ve done shows about card cheats, con artists, ghost hunting and secret societies. I don’t know if such themes fall under the category of being a “nice comic”, although I can riff about poltergeists without once using offensive language like “crumbs” or “gosh darn it”.
Is it a new development? I think a lot of comics talk about personal stuff (they always have) and take the piss out of themselves: self-deprecation has been around comedy forever. Being inoffensive and self-deprecating is nothing new. Maybe the next comedy movement could be being offensive and self-deprecating: “Get fucked, oh I wish I could”. Or about bears. We need more comedy about bears.
It doesn’t matter whether comedians are nice or not. The bottom line is whether they’re funny and have something to say. There are as many different forms of comedy as there are different types of audiences. Let’s get more comedy out there in the public and not worry too much about categories. The trash heap has spoken.
DT: The notion of a “nice” revolution in humour seems to conflict with the views of some punters. A person who responded to blogger Nicholas Gruen’s complaints about the supposed lack of talent at this year’s MICF argued that he thinks “the current crop of comedians are… crude and schoolboyish”. How would you respond to this analysis?
LL: Hmm, interesting question, Groggy Squirrel. A friend of mine once quoted an internet site that had a forum which discussed the opinion of a member who wrote about someone famous who once said: “Comedy is not easy, being a blogger is.”
The internet is an amazing place for people to publish their opinions and it’s good that people hold such strong views about the comedy they like to watch. Every festival has surprises, gems and failures but perhaps we should wait to “see” the shows before commenting on what we think they’ll be like. I remember reading about a show in the festival guide years back and thinking: “Postmen in the snow being attacked by giant monster envelopes – that show sounds puerile and crap!” Well, Arctic Boosh was the funniest thing I saw that year. Rams legs, heh!
DT: At MICF you might launch Mr. “With It” Leung onto an unsuspecting world. Tell me about your show, Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance, and why having a bunk bed until you’re 24 isn’t cool.
LL: Hey, I think having a bunk bed is cool; it’s the ladies who don’t.
Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance is a show about being in my late 20s and realising that I’ll probably never be “cool”. I try to bust apart some myths about hipness and also settle a long-running sibling rivalry between myself and my older (infinitely cooler) bass guitar playing brother. I attempt a few activities that people consider “cool”, which I need to master before I’m 30. Along the way I encounter “pick up artists”, musicians, Chapel St fashionistas, and somehow end up on-stage at the finals of a Breakdancing competition in front of 2000 people. Unfortunately, there are no bears in the show. God, we need more comedy about bears.
DT: During a gig at The Oyster Club you talked about how you almost won over a woman thanks to your skills with the Rubik’s Cube, only to have another comic cut in on your turf. How do you predict being either cool or in a neck brace is going to enhance your chances with females?
LL: C’mon, there’s nothing that screams sexual dynamite more than a man in a neck brace after doing a head-spin in an orange stack hat.
DT: It was interesting to read that you’ve contributed to The Chaser’s War on Everything. Please discuss what material you were responsible for on the show, and whether you think satire serves an important purpose in the current political climate.
LL: A couple of years ago, some of the Chaser guys saw me perform my slide shows of various pranks and social experiments I had done, so when the War On Everything came up they asked me to write similar stunts for them. Last year, some of my scripts were filmed (e.g. Chas in a medieval suit of armour trying to get through a metal detector) and many ended up in the wastepaper basket (e.g. all my Da Vinci Code-themed pranks).
Satire is important and laughing at absurdities and hypocrisy around us is a good way to question institutions and people in power. That said, the Chaser guys are the first to admit that the show isn’t as satirical as people like to think it is. It’s a fun show to work on and hopefully being moved to a midweek prime time slot, and being in an election year, will give (the next season) all sorts of exciting possibilities for stunts involving bears.
DT: It’s well-documented that you’re a sceptic when it comes to ghosts and other, ahem, true stuff. Why should people not be doubtful about going to see you at the Festival?
LL: In past comedy festival shows, I’ve tried to be clever or have some sort of point. This year, I hope Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance is a return to basics – a show that’s simply fun and funny. And if you don’t like having fun then you’re a terrorist1.
1 Or you could be just a bit tired. What do I know?
Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance is playing at MICF from 4-29 April. It’s on Tuesdays to Saturdays at 9.15pm and Sundays at 8.15pm. For booking information, check the MICF website.