Interview with Tom Ballard
Tell us about your new show Tom Ballard Is What He Is.
It’s my debut solo comedy show and it’s all about me coming to terms with what I “is”. It basically tells the story of how I came to the realization that I was gay and how I came out to my friends and family. I like to think of the show as a steaming pile of honesty and awkwardness, with a tasty side of optimism.
Plus shit hot jokes and that.
You originate from Warnambool and are a contemporary of fellow comedian Michael Williams, both in time and region. How difficult is it for comedians in regional areas to get a start? Did having a compatriot like Michael help?
If I had a dollar for every time someone remarked “There must be something in the water in Warrnambool!” once they found out I hail from the same town as Hughesy, I would be able to quit comedy and retire with a golden yacht.
A really big, golden yacht.
I guess it is kind of remarkable that so many comedians come from a regional or rural background. I can think of at least 10 that come to mind pretty quickly. In terms of regular gigging, there’s really not a lot going on in Warrnambool at all; Michael and I would regularly make the 6 hour round trip to Melbourne in one night just to do 5 minute spots at The Local and get paid in petrol money.
But I do think the Comedy Festival does a pretty darn good job of reaching out to regional communities and of bringing the LOLs to remote places. Things like Class Clowns, RAW, Deadly Funny and the Roadshow are all great. There certainly is a big audience for comedy in country towns – Michael and I have put on two showcase shows in Warrnambool, featuring ourselves and some of our favourite comedian friends, and the theatre was packed with keen punters on both occasions. There should be more of it, I reckon.
Many comedians describe what they do as a kind of public therapy. Your show focuses on your coming out of the closet. Do you think that this show performs a therapeutic function as well as one of entertainment?
I think writing the show helped me fully accept who I was and it helped put that big ol’ chapter in my life into perspective. I wouldn’t say it was something I needed to do, but it was certainly enjoyable and helpful. Comedy is a great way to turn something painful or awkward or embarrasing into something good, something funny. While I’ve been extremely lucky in coming out (in that I haven’t faced any major discrimination), it does feel good to be able to joke about the insecurities and anxieties I went through over the past four or five years. Plus people’s reactions to the news are always funny, in retrospect. I guess just the intense awkwardness that is inherent in telling someone something very personal about yourself is beautifully ripe for comedy.
As a card carrying gayer, how do respond to the use of the word ‘gay’ when it’s used in a context meaning ‘bad’.
I’m not a fan, to be honest. There are quite clearly worse things kicking about – legislative discrimination, gay bashings and the Salt Shakers, for example – but I wouldn’t say it’s ideal. I think it’s a little naive to think that those three letters have developed a totally different meaning and can now be substituted for “crap” or “rubbish” or “pish tosh” or “humbug” or “silly” or “not ideal” or certainly not “jungle”.
I think Simon Amstell (who’s a genius and a bit of a hero of mine) says it best here
If a rabbit and a meerkat faced each other in mortal combat who would win and why?
I’m not 100% sure, but I do know that if a rabbit and a meerkat faced each other in immortal combat, that would be fucking boring.
Thank to Tom Ballard. For booking Details go to Tom Ballard Is What He Is