How to laugh at dark and awkward comedy

Some comedy shows are light and silly; others take on topics that are taboo, tough or plain weird. So how do comedians deal with the darker side of life?

Nath Valvo at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2019

Some comedy shows are light and silly; others take on topics that are taboo, tough or plain weird.

So how does a comedian decide which path to take, and does either work better for them or for audiences?

Five Aussie comics performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival give us the lowdown, and share how they deal with the darker or awkward side of life in comedy.

MIKEY CAHILL’S COMEDY FESTIVAL MIDWAY MARK SCORECARD

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NATH VALVO

I have a bit in my 2019 show, I’m Happy For You, about secret psycho behaviour you hide from your partner and, of course, some charming sex confessions.

Audiences have been laughing, thank God, but Melburnians tend to go a little “Full House studio audience” when you rip into yourself.

There’s a bit of, “awww don’t say that about yourself”. Shut up, guys, it’s funny.

Nath Valvo says not all comedy has to have a message.

I never dive too deep into the dark. I’m fully aware of what my audience expect from me.

I mostly want my audience to have a great time.

★★★★½: OUR REVIEW OF NATH VALVO’S COMEDY FESTIVAL SHOW

So I’ll only touch on the dark if the joke is funny enough.

Also dropping the dark stuff in the second half of the show once they trust you does help.

I think giving comedy a “role” can ruin the party a bit. It can just be whatever the comic wants it to be. Woah, I sound so meta?

Piling audiences or comedians into one group doesn’t work.

People are good at finding the acts they like.

I absolutely love the recent shift in comedy that has allowed some huge issues to be spoken about but I also don’t like comedy snobs who think it’s the big stuff or nothing.

Stupid can be just as funny.

I always get confused when people fire up about not liking a certain style of comedy — then don’t buy a ticket.

Seeing a show is voluntary, guys.

Nath Valvo, I’m Happy for You, Melbourne Town Hall — Supper Room, until April 21.

Nikki Britton says audiences can handle the truth.

NIKKI BRITTON

My 2019 show, Once Bitten, explores the concept of performed femininity: the way women are taught to perform in a way that is acceptable.

It’s framed through a lens of my personal story about eating disorders. But with jokes!

Audiences have been really receptive. Parents are asking me to write the show down so they can help teach their girls about how to navigate the pressures placed on women, young women who have experienced similar struggles have been very grateful to connect, but more than anything, people are laughing.

OUR Q&A WITH NIKKI BRITTON

I think audiences are ready for a little pathos with their comedy.

When you are in a room with a human talking for a full hour, you get to know them pretty well in a way.

You feel safe in their hands (if they are doing their job properly) and it can be a really special and quite profound moment when the performer takes us into the darker territory of their heart.

It’s not comedy’s only role to address difficult topics, but even the palace jesters back in the day were able to address the issues of the kingdom with a lightness and irreverence that made a point without poking the bear directly.

We have moved a long way from the jesters of ye olden days, but there is still a power that comedy has in being able address difficult topics, which would otherwise feel too heavy to bear.

That’s not to say it is comedy’s role exclusively.

I think audiences feel most awkward when the spotlight is turned upon them — whether literally in audience participation, or when an injustice or hypocrisy is illustrated that they know they are complicit in.

It is not an expectation that every show will lean into something darker, but people are generally very ready to hear the truth.

When you bring them back to laughter, it is always richer after you have taken them to the darkness.

Nikki Britton, Once Bitten, Melbourne Town Hall — Lunch Room, until April 21.

Tom Walker says his shows can get dark, quickly.

TOM WALKER

My show this year is sneakily about relationships, specifically those times when you realise that you and the person you loved have been in different relationships the whole time.

You’ve been pootling around your little life, reading a smile on to their face, and they’ve spent all this time working out that they don’t actually want to be with you and it blindsides you.

I have a (maybe bad) habit of just stating my dark stuff outright — I think it’s funny to drastically crunch the gearbox from silliness to real life. I love that.

I don’t think it’s comedy’s role to discuss difficult topics but I love that comedians can do it, and I think it’s a useful tool.

We can talk about the abstract art as much as we like but I reckon if you’re putting on a comedy show to people who have paid to come to a comedy show, your first responsibility is to be funny.

I think that people who are really good at commanding a room can take an audience wherever they want — but I can’t imagine anything worse than a comedy night where every comedian had five minutes and used it to discuss their difficult topics and make a good point.

I’d love to make a show about how we’re all going to boil to death in the ocean next to plastic bags we chucked out in 2005.

I reckon I won’t make the show, though — I’ll get three googles in and take a depression nap.

I think if all comedians had to have a point to their shows and something to work towards, comedy would be truly awful.

Most people are just better at being silly.

Tom Walker, Very Very, ACMI — Studio, until April 21.

Danielle Walker is keen to explore even darker material.

DANIELLE WALKER

I talk about my worst nightmare in my 2019 show, Myths and Legends, which is quite gruesome and people get a bit weirded out by a fair bit but we’ve all got those things.

I think by the time I get to some really dark stuff in my shows audiences are on board and trust me not to leave them there terrified.

★★★: OUR REVIEW OF DANIELLE WALKER’S COMEDY FESTIVAL SHOW

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I just say the jokes with a smile if I want to bring in heavy topics.

I’ve already explored it a little bit (more in last year’s show) but death really intrigues me and I’d love to do more on that.

I think people should be fine with being a bit awkward, so sometimes I get them out and sometimes I leave them there.

Depends what mood I’m in.

Danielle Walker, Myths and Legends, The Victoria Hotel — Acacia Room, until April 21.

Corey White says no matter how awkward the jokes are, audiences just want to laugh.

COREY WHITE

Without giving too much away, my 2019 show is about moving past bleakness and naive idealism and realising that sometimes a toothache is just a toothache.

There’s also stuff about avian orgasms and an inspiring serial killer.

Audience will laugh at anything, no matter how horrific. Just kidding, a comedian never reveals their secrets for laughs.

I don’t think there’s a topic that makes audiences feel most awkward. Just their internet history.

Comedy is just about making people laugh.

I would like to explore the Bulgarian postal service in my shows but it’s too divisive and emotional a topic.

Some audiences want comedy to go beyond the jokes, but most just want to laugh.

Corey White, X-Ray, Melbourne Town Hall — Backstage Room, until April 21.