Australia is home to some stellar dark comedians. Before we get into our top five however, let’s answer the question, “What is dark comedy?” As a somewhat controversial topic, it is often misunderstood. What is dark comedy? Mental health struggles, addiction, divorce, death, you name it. If’s clearly not reminding you of rainbows and unicorns, then it’s most likely ‘dark’. …
Spoiler alert! Stand-up comedy is as scripted as a movie. Which is probably why so many stand-up comedians have migrated into TV and movie roles. Just take Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Australia’s own Eric Bana and more recently Celia Pacquola. All performed on stage before they moved to screen. And the similarity between stand-up and movies doesn’t end there. Academy …
When you start out in comedy, you’re looking for stuff that is funny. When you get good, you find stuff you want to talk about, and make that funny. So says comedian Wayne Deakin. Wayne is a 20 plus year veteran of stand-up comedy, and has performed in London, New York, Las Vegas, Montreal, and all over Australia. He’s also …
Comedian Daniel Muggleton is known for the three stripe Adidas tracksuit and big moustache. For the past two years Daniel has been based in the UK and, no-thanks to Covid-19, he’s back in Australia. In this Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode host Steve Davis and Daniel Muggleton, also known as Muggo to his Aussie mates, talk about stereotypes, the importance …
Listen to the audio interview of British comedian Jeff Green by clicking here. Morry Morgan: Jeff Green. Thank you very much for your time today. Jeff Green: Hello Morry. Well, we know each other anyway, because I’ve done some mentoring for some of your Hard Knock Knock participants and have done a couple of your gigs and I’ve got some …
Sydney based Seizure Kaiser is not afraid to broach edgy topics in his comedy. And performing stand-up is only one of his talents, since he’s also a comedy producer and promoter. In this Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode Seizure Kaiser shares the difference between ‘racist jokes’ and ‘jokes about racism’, performing comedy well outside political correctness, and forgetting the haters. …
If there’s a single take away message from this interview, then it’s about embracing change. British born comedian, Jeff Green, was at the top of his game in the UK, performing as an equal with comedy greats, featuring on TV and radio, and even living next door to Ricky Gervais. His career, fame, comedy connections, and bank balance were bigger …
Rik Roberts runs the School of Laughs. But not in Australia. Rik is Kentucky born and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, which will explain our two contrasting accents. As you can guess, like the School of Hard Knock Knocks, the School of Laughs is a stand-up comedy school. That’s where the similarities end. Rik, in contrast to just about all of …
Comedian Greg Fleet is Australia’s bad boy of comedy. On stage and off, ‘Fleety’ has made a name for himself for pushing the boundaries and living life to its fullest. TV, movies, theatre, breakfast radio, and twenty-nine Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows later, it’s hard to imagine how Greg had time for his now infamous drug addiction. But he did, …
