Oliver Clark is the very smooth, very dapper comedian and singer who is returning to the festival after 2008’s For One Night Only and 2007’s By Request Only. Daniel Nicholls sat down with Oliver to discuss his new show, Ladykiller.
Tell me about your new show.
It’s called Ladykiller, it is essentially the Oliver Clark stage persona: clad in velvet, very cheesy, very smarmy… a little audacious. A little dirtier than most shows I’ve done, although done in a cheesy way. Lots of music involved, a lot of crooning. I wouldn’t say there’s audience participation so much but I certainly get in amongst the crowd. You don’t need to do a thing- it’s all me.
Are the songs originals?
Yes, all originals, many of which are available on my latest album, Ten Thousand Kisses (available on iTunes). Although I’ve shortened them down a bit- there’ll be no long songs. And there’s not just singing, there’s dancing, movement. I’ve got my choreography down. And I bring it all to a nice crescendo at the end of the show. Bringing music into the show was very important to me, I want to be an all-round entertainer who sings, tells jokes, and you come out going: “I was well entertained.” And it’s not musical comedy, the lyrics are not designed to be hilarious, but it’s still very funny because the music is just pure cheese, I mean think Tom Jones, Elvis, the Glen Campbell, this show will bring you back to that era. And may I say: I love to sing, it’s one of the joys of my life. So that’s another reason I’ve bought the music in, I just love to do it. My idea, in fact, is to try and get out six albums in a year. I’ve got a Soul album forthcoming, and maybe I’ll put out a Christmas one around mid-year. Then at the end of the year I can put out my greatest hits and then maybe a remix album to go along with that. So eight in total. Have you seen the Trolololo guy?
Yes.
I laughed my ass off at that, but I was also angry because about six months ago I had an idea: what if I just did a song that had no lyrics and was just me crooning? Then I saw that and thought: “Damn it, he beat me to the punch in 1965!”
How different is this show from the original run at Adelaide Fringe?
I had my smallest audience ever in Adelaide, two people! Jenny & Jeff, they were a magnificent audience. But it was a great chance to run the show in beautifully and it’s very polished now, very nice. I made a few changes, corrected a few things that needed it. I’m very happy with it.
Last year you did Six Beers of Separation, did that experience inform this show?
Yes, last year Tooheys sent me around the world, UK, Vegas, New York, LA, trying to connect me to Will Arnett, which I did- what a surprise! As you’d imagine I got a lot of stories out of visiting all those great places, and I talk about one of those stories in Ladykiller, my experience in Vegas. I won’t reveal it now but it’s very amusing. It’s actually the most autobiographical portion of the show, which is mostly me being silly.
So fans of the absurd will enjoy this show?
Fans of cheese will love it. The good thing about cheese is that it’s in the delivery rather than what you’re saying, so the joke can be wherever you want to find it. Half the time I am up there making myself laugh, or trying not to laugh, because I just love cheese. So if you like cheese, silliness, you’ll like this show, because that’s what it is. It goes down smooth, like a gouda.
Any other places to catch you at the festival?
I’ll be at the Haus Party at Hi-fi on Sunday and at the Big Laugh Out at Fed Square on the second-to-last day of the festival, that’s free for everybody and will be a great gig.
Ladykiller runs until April 18th at Arthur’s Bar. For full booking details go to the Melbourne Comedy Festival website