It's a familiar routine: comedian tells joke, person on Twitter objects, journalists document the "backlash" – then commentators proclaim that political correctness, having already "gone mad", will be the death of stand-up comedy. The only problem is that such disputes rarely involve the punters who actually attend live shows.
"It's a common media narrative but I certainly haven't experienced that myself," says Wil Anderson, who has performed at every Melbourne International Comedy Festival since 1996. Geraldine Hickey, who debuted in the festival's Raw Comedy contest in 2001, agrees: "The people who say PC culture is killing comedy don't come to these shows and they never will; they all just sit at home and whinge."
PC society killing stand-up comedy? Not so, say Australian comedians Wil Anderson and Geraldine Hickey.Credit:Eddie Jim
Indeed, Irish comic David O'Doherty believes that "Melbourne audiences in particular have shown that nothing is out of bounds; you can talk about any subject as long as you do it intelligently".
Between them, this trio has almost 70 years' experience in live comedy. As they prepare to perform at this year's festival, now the second-largest of its type in the world, they reflect on how it – and they – have evolved. (A printed guide to all 630 shows is included in Saturday's edition of The Age, an official media partner of the event.)
"When I started, it was like running away to join the circus," Anderson says. "You didn't think about getting a job on TV or radio because there weren't the kind of opportunities there are now. Your only aspiration was to be good enough to keep doing more stand-up."
Hickey says coming out on stage in 2011 took things to a whole new level with her audience. Credit:Simon Schluter
Occasionally, audience members take Anderson to task over his material but he does not see this as an attack on his right to free speech. "I no longer tell jokes I used to tell 10 years ago because my perspective on a lot of things has changed so logically, you'd assume there are jokes I'm telling now that I won't tell in future," he says. "I'm so glad that at 46 years old, I'm not still making 'John Howard looks like Mr Sheen' jokes. I want to explore the issue itself, not how a politician looks."
Most people intuitively grasp the intent and context of a gag, Hickey says. More than anything, they respond to honesty.
"I used to think I was being myself," says Hickey, who came out as gay in her 2011 show. "But my comic friends pointed out that while I was always comfortable on stage, that type of honesty took things to a whole other level with the audience."
When O'Doherty describes his Australian peers as "weird", it's a compliment.
"People who live in Melbourne might not realise how odd your comedy is," he says. "In London, people approach stand-up [as a professional career] whereas Australians just go, 'I think this is funny so let's see if it works'. I'm quite an odd performer myself and Aussie comedians have had a big influence on me."
Melbourne audiences, Hickey adds, are just as distinct.
"They get as excited as the performers," she says. "There's this real sense of, 'We're so lucky to have this so let's get out there and enjoy it'."
The Age is a media partner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, which runs from March 25 to April 19.
Comics' choice: The rising stars of stand-up
Most MICF shows run for less than an hour so to really make a night of it, go and see an old favourite – then take a punt on an emerging stand-up. Here are some suggestions from the experts.
Wil Anderson: Oliver Twist has an incredible story of being a refugee coming to Australia and he's an exceptional comedian; Alex Jae and Bec Charlwood, who do The Ladies Guide to Dude Cinema podcast, are both doing solo shows.
Geraldine Hickey: Emma Holland did Comedy Zone [a showcase of emerging comics] last year and she's doing her own show this year – she's very funny and interesting; Lauren Bonner and Rose Piper are also great.
David O'Doherty: Catherine Cohen won best newcomer at Edinburgh last year and it's one of the best shows I've seen; Lou Sanders and John Kearns are really good too.
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