If you’d like to get quite a bang for your buck in seeing two acts within the one show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, then Melbourne comedians Simon Cumming and Perri Cassie have got you covered with their show Simon & Perri Go Large.
The show is set to be full of exhilaration, exuberance, excitement and any other peppy word beginning with e (or any other letter for that matter). If their work on Live on Bowen is anything to go by, all those things and more will be seen on stage! The duo were kind enough to answer a few questions for us here at Arts on the AU prior to their show starting next week as part of the festival.
How much difference is doing a duo-type show different to a solo show? Have either of you ever done solo stuff before?
Simon: I’ve never done a solo show before but I think the main difference/difficulty is you have to be able to entertain someone else’s family & friends not just your own. I hope Perri’s mum likes jokes about salads.
Perri: Well it’s a split show, so it’s pretty autonomous.
I don’t know what Simon’s doing. Simon doesn’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve only done split showcases before, so I can’t comment on what it’s like to do a solo, but I’m going to say a split show is a lot less work. Approximately half the work. I guess the difference is you have to worry about how the dynamic is going to work and if both styles will cater to a full audience. Simon has jokes about salad, whereas i like meatier subjects.
What was the experience of working on Live on Bowen on C31?
Simon: Live on Bowen was great, I wrote for the show, appeared in a bunch of segments and also did audience warmup on a few episodes. That was tough but such a good experience. I got very good at throwing candy at people
Perri: I was late to meetings and mostly played on my phone. I’ve literally never even watched it. It’s another thing for me to lie about on my CV.
Your pyrotechnics in your show sounds quite exciting! How much do you feel they add to your show?
Simon: They say it’s not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster; this has well and truly fulfilled that. We also wanted to get value out of our public liability insurance. What’s the point of having it if you don’t use it?
Perri: There just wouldn’t be a show without the pyrotechnics. I’m planning on having fireworks go off after each joke. They’ll last for five minutes each, so I’ll roughly tell about three jokes.
This show sounds like it doesn’t hold back on expense & spectacular-ness. Can you describe how huge the show will be?
Simon: Pretty gigantic. Imagine your biggest, tallest friend and then imagine their shoes. At least as big as that.
Perri: Look, I don’t want to talk out of turn, but it could be the biggest comedy show in history. We wanted Rod Laver Arena originally but the floors were being buffered that fortnight so we just had to make do with The Downstairs Lounge, which is still a pretty great venue with lots of great shows.
What other comedians are you wanting to see during this upcoming month in Melbourne?
Simon: I really want to see James Acaster. I saw his show last year and I thought it was one of the best things I saw and was exactly the kind of thing I want to do in the future. It was silly but in a serious framework and so, so funny. I tend to wear out on seeing straight standup as the festival goes on, so I am going to be going in on as much weirdness as I can find, Sam Simmons’ show last year was incredible will definitely have to see him again this year.
Perri: I want to see them all. Jen Kirkman, the Headliners showcase shows, David O’Doherty. But, if you want my insight – support local comedy and don’t go for the names you know from telly. There’s some real great shows out there, my recommendations are: Peter Jones, Luka Muller, Anthony Jeannot, and Rob Caruana.
What do you hope the audience will take away with them once they’ve seen your show?
Simon: I really want this to be an insight into what a solo show of mine would be. Not a series of bits in random order but a show. I want people to laugh and have a lot of fun, but also think ‘Damn. I hope he does a solo show next year’. Also, hope the audience will take away any rubbish they bring. Don’t want to have to be cleaning up the room after the show.
Perri: Happiness, fulfillment, a good impression. Everything but their money. Leave that behind. I need it. Simon and I are two very different comics, so I’m hoping that everyone gets a something different from both of us. I plan on doing a solo show next year, so ideally I’d like to win some fans. Get some of that clout. 25 minutes isn’t enough time to run a narrative, so this is a collection of jokes that make me laugh, and are a reflection of what I see in myself, and the worlds that I inhabit. I want people to laugh, groan, and think in equal measure.
Simon & Perri Go Large is playing at the The Downstairs Lounge @ The Grand Mercure Hotel, 195 Swanston St, Melbourne. Their run of shows starts on 5 April and plays every night until 17 April (except 11 April). Get tickets here.
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