The recent banning of fireworks in the ACT may have reduced the entertainment options for the people of Canberra, but the comedy scene is thriving with plenty of Canberrans taking to the stage. One such act are identical twin brothers, The Stevenson Experience.
Benjamin and James have been performing as a musical comedy duo for the past few years. “We started comedy throughout high school but it took a while for us to find our feet in musical comedy,” explained James.”Actually this was because neither of us could play an instrument and Benjamin said ‘Hey, musical comedy is pretty funny and I’ve written a bunch of songs’ to which I replied ‘OK, I’ll learn the guitar then’. A couple of years later The Stevenson Experience was born.”
The boys took their act to the Class Clown and Raw Comedy Competitions, and managed to make it to the finals in Melbourne. “Class Clowns and Raw were both great experiences and ones that I would recommend to any aspiring comic. It’s also a great chance to work with a bunch of professional comedians and organisers. However, the fact that it is a competition does make the atmosphere sometimes very competitive, which can add to the nerves and apprehensions. In both competitions we lost the first few times we did it, which makes you feel down, but you practice, get better, and win it next time. This year we actually lost our heat in Raw, and were wildcarded to the NSW semis, which we won, before losing the finals, but being offered a place in the Nationals, which we promptly lost – so it’s an up and down ride but it’s never really losing. “
When asked to describe their act, James told me, “It is most certainly an experience! I play the guitar and Benjamin plays the piano, and we perform all sorts of songs, mostly original and with a few parodies. We throw in some dance moves for the ladies, some stand-up comedy, bi-lingual gymnastics, and a few kazoo’s; mix it all together in a blender and come out with The Stevenson Experience.” I wondered whether living in a smallish, political city such as Canberra influenced the humour in any way but James explained that, “Politics generally gets a weekly run-down on all the television comedy programs and we like to be original with our humour, so none of our jokes are really Canberra based.”
The twins have a self produced show coming up on September 25th at ANU, a venue not regularly used for stand up. It will act as “a preview of our show which we plan on taking to Melbourne next year. It’s going along quite well, and will just get better the more we work on it. It’ll be about the hardships of being an identical twin, singing with a learning disability, sexually transmitted diseases, foreign languages, tractors, love, life, Taylor Swift, and superheroes…If the night’s a success it may become a regular Canberra venue for all comedians.”
Aside from their solo gig, the Canberra scene features a number of regular rooms. The Front Gallery & Cafe, PJ O’Reilly’s and the Civic Pub all have comedy nights, while The Street Theatre hosts many touring comedy shows. The states’ major comedic event is the annual Green Faces comedy competition which runs from July to September (Visit the Green Faces website for full details) and attracts entrants from around the nation.
Coming up at the end of this month is The Tilt Comedy Festival which runs from 28th September until 11th October. The Stevensons will be performing as well as Lehmo, Anthony Ackroyd and many of Canberra’s finest (visit the Tilt Facebook page for full details).
When asked to name what Canberran performers our readers should keep an eye open for, James nominated “Jay Sullivan, Emo Parsonson, Daniel Connell, Kale Bogdanovs, Tom Gibson, and Herbie and the Coleslaws.” So you can find out more, the ACT crew have put together a website (comedyact.com.au) which lists information about a number of local performers as well as upcoming gigs.
Catch The Stevenson Experience with Daniel Connell and Emo Parsonson at the ANU Bar on Friday September 25th. Doors open at 7pm and entry is $10.
Thank you to James Stevenson for his time.