Tim Suatan takes a look at the burgeoning comedy scene in our nation’s capital.
Canberra is known for many things; but not for its home-grown comedy scene. Yet despite of this, there’s always been comedy in Canberra. In the past few years, the comedy seems to come to town around comedy “seasons.”
The main event for winter is the Green Faces comedy competition held from July to September at the Canberra Irish Club. This is an open mic competition where comedians from around Australia visit Canberra to do their regional heats and then go on to the grand final.
The second season of comedy starts in February during the Canberra Multicultural Festival in February. In 2007 there were a few comedy shows including the annual showcase-night “Show Us Your Roots”. A few household names also came to town both before and after Melbourne tour; 2007 saw the likes of Ross Noble, Danny Bhoy, Rod Quantock, Judith Lucy, and Wil Anderson. The venues range from smaller pub venues to large theatres; and they were well-tickets to some of the more popular visitors are often sold out.
One noteworthy mention was Wil Anderson’s shows in Canberra in the last two years. Although Wil Anderson could have filled a bigger venue, he did his shows at the more intimate Courtyard Studio. After his set, he just stayed out front and answered questions from the audience about his comedy. I attended a show; and it was an enjoyable set plus an unusual peek on the writing process and the life of a professional comedian.
As for the home-grown comedy scene, now there a few comedy gigs in town that have been running for several months: The Front Gallery & Café_ (Lyneham); _Soul Bar (Woden); the Australian National University’s Bar, the Green Room at the Uni of Canberra, and one gig in October 2007 with Chris Franklin headlining at The Venue. This local comedy revival was spearheaded by five of the Canberra RAW comedy 2006 contestants who got together to workshop and started doing gigs together.
After a year, all this effort bore some fruit for both comedians and for the nascent comedy scene. For the first time in the ten-year history of Green Faces, a Canberran (Tom Gibson) took the first place; after coming third last year. Tom also had a well-reviewed Melbourne Comedy Festival debut in 2007. In addition, Canberra also furnished two RAW NSW state finalists in 2007, James Lieutenant and Emerson Parsonson.
All in all, the comedy scene has grown enough to attract the attention of a few venues and local punters and even a few punters who were inspired to try comedy