Author Archives: Tom
Guardian Piece
When it comes to Australia’s treatment of refugees who arrive by boat, there’s at least one thing everyone agrees on: the seriousness of the dilemma. Laborites, Liberals, Greens, advocates and rightwing columnists alike always preface their comments on the debate with a sombre acknowledgement of just how “complex”, “difficult”, “uneasy”, “uncomfortable” and “heartbreaking” it all is.
I’m tempted to use another term: a term that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet and rhymes with “ducked”.
The situation is ducked. It’s ducked up and it’s been ducked up for a long time.
A Chat With Susie Youssef at MICF
2016: The World Keeps Happening
Here’s my brand new stand-up show for 2016 hurrah hurrah. It’s about the state of this crazy ol’ world in which we find ourselves. And my phone. And drugs. And James Bond.
Please come!
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PERTH FRINGEWORLD @ THE GOLDDIGGER
Friday January 22nd – Saturday January 30th, 8:30pm (no show Tuesday Jan 26th). Tickets available here.
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ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL @ THE GARDEN OF UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS (STUDIO 7)
Friday Feb 12th – Sunday Feb 28th, 8:15pm (no show Monday Feb 15th). Tickets available here.
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BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE BRISBANE POWERHOUSE (VISY THEATRE)
Tuesday March 15th – Sunday March 20th, 8:45pm (7:15pm Sunday). Tickets available here.
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MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE SUPPER ROOM, MELBOURNE TOWN HALL
Thursday March 24th – Sunday April 17th, 8:15pm (7:15pm Sunday. No show Mondays or Wednesdays.) AUSLAN-interpreted show on Thursday March 31st. Tickets available here.
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SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE COMEDY STORE
2 SHOWS ONLY! Thursday April 28th & Friday April 29th, 8:15pm. Tickets available here.
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57 – Simon Hunt (Pauline Pantsdown)
YES I KNOW IT’S BEEN QUITE A WHILE I’VE BEEN VERY BUSY SORRY LOL.
The good news is this episode is well worth the wait. Simon Hunt is a political satirist, film maker, lecturer, sound designer, musician and activist who’s best known for his creation “Pauline Pantsdown” – a hugely popular and scathing parody of the One Nation politician Pauline Hanson.
In this extraordinary chat (recorded on the day of Mardi Gras 2016), Simon recounts his experiences of growing up gay in NSW in the 80s and explains his his fascination with religious right-wingers like Fred Nile and Anita Bryant, his politicisation in the face of the AIDS crisis, how he came to create Pantsdown and what Hanson says about us as a country today. Plus he’s got some stories that are fucking funny.
The World Keeps Happening at the Melbourne Comedy Festival
Boundless Plains To Share at the Melbourne Comedy Festival
My episode of Wil Anderson’s Wilosophy
SBS’s The Feed story on Boundless Plains To Share
Pauline Pantsdown on the Star Observer
Electoral Guerilla Theatre in Australia: Pauline Hanson vs. Pauline Pantsdown by Lawrence M. Bogad
Cause of the Week: minus18 (minus18.org.au)
SBS’s The Feed on Boundless Plains To Share
It’s a decidedly unfunny topic, yet Tom Ballard is using his latest stand-up comedy show to speak about Australia’s…
Posted by The Feed SBS on Tuesday, March 29, 2016
774 ABC Conversation Hour
Had a lovely chat on the ABC’s Conversation Hour with my fellow Moosehead recipients Laura Davis and Kate Denhert about our little shows and making different comedy. You can listen to it here.
2016 Opening Night Gala
Photo by Jim Lee
Interview on The Project Friday March 25th
.@TomCBallard chats about his #MICF shows, joking about serious topics & visiting a detention centre #TheProjectTV https://t.co/a37yAbk4bD
— #TheProjectTV (@theprojecttv) March 25, 2016
