Journalist and comedy writer Richard Cooke has worked with the likes of The Chaser, The Checkout, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and The Monthly.
He gave me some of his time to sound off on Aussie hip hop, Australian political satire, the theory of “mutual obligation” and tax evasion and the role of polling in today’s politics.
Article: Why I Have Resigned From The Telegraph
Article: The People Versus The Political Class
Cause of the Week: Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org)
My first entry from the 2015 Melbourne Comedy Festival is up here, covering whatever the hell is going on in the above image, a rape joke controversy and an insight into my “creative process”.
My 2015 stand up show is called Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred and I think it’s my BEST ONE YET or whatever else you need to hear in order to come along and watch it (please).
The show’s about a bad thing that happened to me in a taxi in Newcastle, as well as loneliness, sex, love, labels and finding the courage to be yourself.
Hope to see you guys there.
ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL @ THE GARDEN OF UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS (STUDIO 7)
Friday Feb 13th – Sunday March 1st, 8:30pm (no show Monday Feb 16th). Tickets available here.
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BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE BRISBANE POWERHOUSE (VISY THEATRE)
Tuesday March 10th – Sunday March 15th, 8:45pm (7:15pm Sunday). Tickets available here.
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MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE SWISS CLUB
Thursday March 26th – Sunday April 19th, 8:15pm (7:15pm Sundays. Wheelchair-accessible show Monday 30th March. AUSLAN interpreted show Wednesday April 8th). Tickets available here.
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SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL @ THE COMEDY STORE
2 shows only! Thursday April 30th & Friday May 1st, 7pm. Tickets available here.
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PERTH COMEDY FESTIVAL @ MT LAWLEY BOWLING CLUB
Wednesday May 13th – Saturday 16th May, 8:15pm. Tickets available here.
Well blow me down if it isn’t all done!
Cheers so much to everyone who made it out to the shows, these past few months have been more than being tickled in a milkshake factory. I hoped you liked me ranting about homophobes and my love handles and dying alone as much as I liked doing the ranting.
Ben Riley describes himself as a classical liberal, a Queenslander and a larrikin. He’s a former president of the Young Liberals and the current Vice President of the International Young Democractic Union.
We came together to find out exactly where we do and don’t agree on things like the privatisation of public assets, the State’s role in our lives, puppy farms, same-sex marriage, diversity in politics, the environment and our Prime Minister’s character.
Plus we laughed about that time he got drunk and was a bit silly.
Cause of the Week: The Young Liberal Movement of Australia (youngliberal.org.au), Oxfam Australia (oxfam.org.au)
Adelaide’s Welcome Centre is an initiative of Welcome To Australia, an organisation dedicated to changing the conversation around Australia’s immigration policies and to providing support to asylum seekers, refugees and new arrivals.
My guests were Kate Leaney, the Centre’s manager, and Ali, an Iranian refugee who was kind enough to share his story of fleeing his homeland and coming to Australia by boat. We discussed the notion of being welcoming, faith, children in detention, fear and hope.
My Brisbane Festival blog for The Daily Review
#youarewelcomehere
The Welcome Centre on Facebook
Article: Turning Back The Boats Is A Moral And Legal Failure Say Academics
Article: Goodwill Letters To Asylum Seekers On Nauru Returned Unopened
Cause of the Week: Welcome To Australia (welcometoaustralia.org.au), @welcome2aussie
This is an interesting Buzzfeed list on LGBTI rights in Australia. Still a shitload of work to do, methinks.
I’m hosting this panel at the Wheeler Centre for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on Monday March 30th.
Here’s the blurb:
Comedy aims to make us laugh, but it’s not all sweetness and light. Humour can be a way of taking control over the dark side of life: for the comedians who write the jokes and the audiences who relish them.
The ‘sad clown’ cliché is often true, with high-profile comics increasingly coming out of the closet about their struggles with mental health, partly due to an increased awareness and acceptance. Can seeing the world from a skewed or outsider perspective make humour easier, even if it makes life harder? When we joke about mental health, is there a line between catharsis, or boundary-pushing, and offence? Join host Tom Ballard, Lawrence Mooney and Sarah Kendall as they peek out from behind the red curtain to share their insights.
Click here to read my blog from the Brisbane Comedy Festival, featuring great fan feedback (see above), audio of confused Dutch people and shout-outs to late legends.
