Damien Power: Sell Mum Into Slavery - Brisbane Comedy Festival 2016

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Tue 01 Mar 2016 - Sun 06 Mar 2016

Given the plethora of choices available at the annual Brisbane Comedy Festival at the Powerhouse, it can be easy to just head for the safety of the big name acts. That's all well and good, but you don't [i]have[/i] to follow the herd to have fun. I've got a hot tip for all you fans of clever comedy – grab yourself a ticket to see local comedian Damien Power perform from Tuesday 1st to Sunday 6th of March.

Don't be mistaken in thinking because he's a Brissy boy he can't hold his own. Damien's been working as a professional comedian for around ten years, he's signed to one of the top comedy agents in Australia, and this will be his sixth Brisbane Comedy Festival show, eyebrow-raisingly entitled [i]Sell Mum Into Slavery[/i]. Plenty of acts can't even get on the Festival bill once, so you know he must be doing something right to be in the line-up again. Maybe it's just his destiny.



Over a decade and many personal changes ago, a young Damien was working in IT when he had an epiphany – he was unhappy as a cog in the corporate culture. He didn't feel like himself anymore. It was time to get out. Damien needed to find his true calling.

"Since I was in primary school, I would get up and do characters and sketch– it's really weird! People talk about what they're destined to, or what their instinct tells them to do, but when I was in grade three or so me and my mate would get up and do impressions of ads at the time. They actually weren't bad bits when I look back on it," he told me, while cupping a half full coffee, as he nestled comfortably in the left corner of my couch.



[i]Check out a bit of my chat with Damien above or visit Talking Funny to see the uncut interview[/i]

Comedy, like all art forms, is a truly subjective medium. One man's idea of hilarious can be offensive or pedestrian to another. So what can you expect from Damien? If other comedians can be likened to delivering stand up 'small talk', Damien is the guy getting into the big meaty issues. He's the thinking person's comedian, eliciting as many 'aha!' moments as he does chuckles in his fearless set. The name of the show itself is just as incitive as his jokes. I asked Damian about the show's provocative moniker and whether it influenced the rest of his writing.

"So the title was just like 'okay this is an interesting title. It's funny, whatever,' and then throughout the whole year I've just been doing the bits that I've wanted. So now I've put it all together, there's really a theme of evolution. What the next step in evolution of human beings will be."



So few comedians will dare to cover the big questions like Damien does; they instead favour dumbing things down and appealing to the lowest common denominator. It's refreshing to have a comedian speak to an audience like they have brains in their heads.

"I think any way of using the medium to be funny is fine, but I guess I just feel like more and more these days if people are paying 20 or 30 dollars to come and see you," Damien explained, "It's like I really want it to be something that is… I want it to be like art - revealing and make people question things, or make people feel uncomfortable, or make people feel like this is too much. I like all those kinds of energy in the show. So I guess it's driven by trying to put on a good show, or what I deem as like, high quality I suppose."

If you're not sure if Damien's style will be your cup of tea, why not take a few minutes to view a sample of last year's show?



[i]Find Damien's full 2015 show online for free at Damien's website [/i]

[b][i]Sell Mum Into Slavery[/i] National Tour Dates[/b]

Perth Fringe Festival
29th Jan - 2nd Feb
Tickets and details  HERE

Brisbane Comedy Festival
1st - 6th March
Tickets and details HERE

Melbourne International Comedy Festival
23rd March - 17th April
Tickets and details HERE

Sydney yet to be announced!

#brisbane_city
#comedy
#festivals
#fun_things_to_do
#near_brisbane
#new_farm
#performing_arts
#quirky
#march
!date 01/03/2016 -- 06/03/2016
%wnbrisbane