The purpose of comedy, it is often said, is to speak truth to power. But comedy's fatal flaw is that it needs to speak truths whilst also being funny, and once people are laughing they're probably less inclined to overthrow the powerful. Those who argue that comedy is a conservative artform have a point - comedy may point out some truths about the powerful, but it also makes you feel a lot better about them existing (if only for a few... Read More »
“Catherine Deveny’s column will no longer appear in The Age.” Ahh, does it come any sweeter than... Read More »
It’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival time again, and that means the streets of Melbourne are filled with…... Read More »
There's one word to explain why Peter Helliar keeps on getting work: footy. What, you thought it was going to be... Read More »
It’s time for a shocking admission: I have close friends who are fans of Sam Simmons. It’s safe to say that we agree to disagree on the quality of his work. But the relevant point here is that my Simmons-loving friends are big fans of live comedy, and they base their love (okay, enjoyment) of... Read More »
Things have slowed down a little around here of late, as we work behind the scenes to push the lumbering cart that is The Australian Tumbleweed Awards 2009 into position. Sadly, that means no in-depth analysis on why roughly a tenth of Hungry Beast‘s running time is taken up with fancy promos for a show... Read More »
Watching tonight’s episode of Rove – in which he attempted to interview 60 guests in an hour - was always going to be worth a look for comedy... Read More »