The tension was palpable and the crowd was pumped. Who would be crowned the RAW Comedy National Grand Final 2016 champion? My +1 and I took our seats in the balcony of the almost sold out Melbourne Town Hall. Everyone was ready to see the 11 finalists take to the stage to wow the audience (and the judges, too. They’re important as well).
Host — and past RAW finalist — Nazeem Hussain warmed the crowd up by having us practice a bit of clapping, a bit of whooping. It was all for the broadcast going out on SBS (so if you’ve missed out, catch it on the telly soon).
RAW Comedy sources emerging talents from all over the country. This year had comics from every single state — yes, and both territories as well. Some of the past winners include Celia Pacquola and Hannah Gadsby, so you know you’re about to see future big names right at the start of their careers. Nazeem reminded us all to be nice: ‘If you think there’s a punchline, there probably is.’
Laughing came easily with the first act, Chris Kearney, whose standup routine revolved around him quitting work for an imaginary trip to Europe — and then getting re-hired, so having to keep living the lie. Too cute. With around five minutes for each act, a few of them didn’t stand out as much to me — some were just a little too disjointed for my taste. I prefer narrative structure to my standup. (How highfalutin’ do I sound?) I enjoyed two of the acts from the most farflung of places: Squirly, hailing from a small town in northwest WA, who riffed on accidental homophobia around his town’s two gay cafe-owning couples, and his mother terrifying him as a child when she played the ‘Wibbly Wobbly Monster Game’. I also liked David Woodhead from Darwin. Although he was the only comic to rely on the overused f-bomb for effect, I still appreciated his clever takes on what it’s like to be from NT.
The RAW comics didn’t shy away from racism or politics, either. Michael Shafer (whom I’ve seen at Bazaar Tales storytelling) talked about what it was like to be Jewish, and lobbed a few choice zingers defying bigotry. While I didn’t agree with the slut-shaming that Craig Quartermaine, from Perth, did about the ‘type’ of person who would be hired to pole-dance at a midday slot in a pub (he really needs to talk to my friends who love pole so much they’ve installed them in their flats), his moment describing the Aboriginal mass grave on Rottnest Island took the audience to a place that, yes, we all needed to go. Before — wham, bang! — saying ‘Moments like this I wish there were a machine that converted white guilt into a power source.’ Joke!
While the judges deliberated, we were treated to two international comedians. Sofie Hagen, from Denmark, riffed on everything to being overweight to having beautiful friends, and had me in absolute stitches. I really want to see her show now. Glaswegian Larry Dean told us a story so cute, so compelling, about standing up to tram inspectors, that I’ve been (badly) re-telling it to pals.
Both the international comedians have garnered accolades at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is exactly where the RAW Comedy Winner is off to perform. And who was crowned queen of comedy? Danielle Walker, with a hilarious act that used the dichotomy of her little-girl face with using a deep womanly voice, to great effect. Her comedy was fresh, new, and downright clever. Definitely one of my favourites of the night Her MICF comedy show will no doubt sell out thanks to her win, and deservedly so.
That’s what’s so great about RAW: you get to watch all of the finalists go on to great careers in comedy. Watch these names — they’ll be back next year.
– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa can’t believe we’re in the final week of Comedy Festival.
Fancy yourself a future comic? Visit the RAW Comedy website and Facebook to find out when next year’s competition begins.
Check out our guide to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for more great shows.
