EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- Brendon Burns

Tell us a bit about your show

I'd pre-book for both of them, I think they're going to sell out. I'm in two double acts this year. The first is with my good friend Craig Quartermaine and the show's called Race Off. We're the first double act of our kind ever. It addresses the more nuanced nature of the racial dynamic within our friendship and working relationship and how relevant this is to the current climate around the world.

We cancel out each other's weaknesses, he is intensely likeable and has a comic perspective almost never heard from before. As a TV journalist he reports on atrocities day in and day out, but are only seen on the National Indigenous Television network (which might give you something of a hint to our state of affairs) but in the UK he's considered way more "Australian comedian" than "Indigenous journalist" and he can really cut loose. So we undeniably make each other more marketable. I'm over forty and he's an Indigenous Australian newcomer, the industry isn't particularly clamouring for either one of us individually.

The second is with renowned professional wrestler Colt Cabana where we watch bad wrestling and has become a little bit of a late-night cult hit. Different show every night, now in its fifth year. Many folks lament the rock'n'roll, anything-goes feel of late night comedy at the Fringe, I think we're doing a pretty decent job of carrying that torch.

Why bring it to Edinburgh?

Well, Race Off is something Craig and I want to tour the world with - everybody knows Edinburgh is the place to start in achieving that. Despite it being about the dynamic between white and Indigenous Australia it has a far broader scope and translates to pretty much everywhere.

And to be honest when it comes to the wrestling show it was supposed to just be a knockabout bit of fun for wrestling fans. We never expected it to take off the way it has. Colt is a huge comedy fan and always just wanted to visit the festival but he's made himself a mainstay very quickly. I love how much my affable, completely unpretentious, wrestler friend has become such a fixture and familiar face at the world's largest arts festival.

What sets it apart from other shows at the Fringe?

No hyperbole necessary really, Craig and I are literally the first double act of our kind in history so it's pretty easy to set it apart from any show before us. We've already had a whole lot of, "Why you two? And "Who the hell do two you think you are?" back home and the short answer is we're simply the first, that's why it feels audacious.

When it comes to Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana do Comedy and Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches, I think we can go out on a limb and claim we are easily the best bad wrestling clip show at the Fringe.

Who would you recommend comes to see your show?

Oddly enough, I'd say it's the wrestling show that has broader appeal. Colt and I figured ours was a dumb show for no one, but it turns out non-wrestling fans have just as much fun. We've never had a bad review. It's hard to have a bad time; it's sweaty, late, beery and raucous. The audience is a huge part of it and way more fired up than your traditional Fringe-going crowd, it's very hard not to get swooped up in the fever of it, like a lot of late shows used to be.

Race Off has much heavier themes as one might expect so it's definitely the edgier show of the two. Neither Craig nor I pull our punches so it's not going to be for the faint of heart. Plus it's directed by Matt Holt and Ro Acharya who did So I Suppose THIS Is Offensive NOW. So for those of you in the know, you can expect to get roughed up a bit. As the show is about personal accountability when it comes to race, no one gets let off the hook really. But this one's with less of a punch in the face and is more about forgiving each other our more clumsy attempts at building a bridge. Although, for true cathartic, healing laughs, the jokes kind of have to have a sting in their tail.

Are there any other performances you're hoping to catch at the festival?

I'd really love to - and this is totally a humble brag (but that's the point of these questionnaires right?) - but I suspect we're going to be run off our feet this year. This is my twentieth show at the Fringe and by now anyone in my position should know what will garner added attention as opposed to just playing to your fans. Most years you're largely filling an hour with hope and a semi-decent to decent skill set. But once every ten years, life hands you the show that you're actually supposed to be doing and everything else was just preparation.

My point being that like the year Bridget Christie had with A Bic For Her, I think this might be one of those, right show, right time-type deals. One can already tell by the sheer uptick in people that want to talk to us ahead of time: unless we totally f*** this up, we're about to be very busy.

If I am plugging I'd like to see Desiree Burch, she is so f-ing funny and I adore her. Rhys Nicholson is just a killing machine and a top bloke. I think everyone who knows anything about comedy roots for Glenn Wool to have a breakthrough year as he is consistently one of the finest comics working anywhere. Phil Nichol - bankable, sweaty, tearing the roof off. Bec Hill is weird, wild, wonderful and every nerd falls instantly in love with her. Loyiso Gola is one of the biggest names in South Africa and taking over the rest of the world with good reason. Dane Baptiste was working on his show as early as last November so I don't see how that could be anything less than great. Oh, and I have to give a shout out to Seymour Mace who's Colt Cabana's favourite comedian. In fact if you see Cabana on the street (he's easy to spot, he's the only American jock looking dude at an arts festival) ask him, 'cos he goes to absolutely everything.

Ed Byrne's Working Title of "I'll Millennial You in a Minute" made me openly laugh when I read it. Which, if someone's being that funny in a blurb, is a pretty good sign. Oh, and Adam Rowe is going to be doing arenas within the next five to ten years so see him cheap now.

In fact, at the risk of sounding on message, this is an international festival, if you see a comic who may have a perspective that polarises yours, check them out. If you're a burly Scottish scaffolder go see a camp gay Asian, if you're a white British Oxbridge nerdy lady, go see a visiting African American act. If you're a visiting African American check out a white English absurdist etc... That's kind of what this festival is for, widen your horizons. In such divisive times it's still nice to know that funny is funny.

Timings and ticket information for Race Off and Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Do Comedy and Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches are available on the edfringe website.

Photo Credit: Steve Ullathorne

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