People are tired of outrage, wokeness, Chaser star Andrew Hansen says

In recent years Andrew Hansen started to panic about every line that he wrote. But now he feels when it comes to outrage, the pendulum is swinging back the other way.

Andrew Hansen feels ‘there is a big movement of people who are rather tired of outrage and wokeness’.

In your new show, Andrew Hansen is Cheap, you explain how to save money in our inflationary times. What is your top tip?

Never ever do what I do. Never become an entertainer of any sort. My poor mum was horrified when I went into the arts. She said: “If you’re going to do that, Andrew, never say no to anything.’’ That would explain a lot of the very bad gigs I’ve ended up doing over the years.

You’ve won the Adelaide Fringe Festival’s best comedy prize for your touring show, and you’ve urged punters to ignore your gong.
Why?

I was worried this award might damage my ticket sales because people might start to think the show’s terribly worthy and has all sorts of emotional complexity. I just wanna assure people it’s not like those award-winning shows where you have to learn life lessons. It’s a fun comedy show.

You reprise your satirical song from The Chaser era, The Eulogy Song, in the show. Why did this song, about how “tools turn into top blokes after death”, upset John Howard and Kevin Rudd?

If you end up in a high-rating TV show, the media like to run news stories about it because it generates clicks and readers. One of the bizarre knock-on effects was that journalists would ask politicians what they thought of some comedy sketch we were doing. It was like the world had gone bananas.

What was the strangest controversy you were involved in when you performed in CNNNN, The Chaser’s War on Everything and The Hamster Wheel?

We did a sketch about Guide Dogs for the Blind Drunk. The comic premise was that if you were very drunk you could hire a guide dog to help you get home safely. It seemed quite simple and straightforward to us, but it attracted the outrage of the Queensland Guide Dogs Association. Every week somebody was furious with us for something.

Does cancel culture make it difficult to create edgy comedy?

In recent years I started to worry and panic about every single line that I wrote – whether it would result in people wanting to burn me down. So yes, I think there is a new level of nervousness for comic writers, thanks to social media.

Can this unhealthy situation change?

I feel there is a big movement of people who are rather tired of outrage and wokeness, and that the pendulum is gonna start to swing back to a more sensible, comfortable position in the middle again. Now I just think, “I’m gonna do my funny shows. And if people like it, they like it. And if they don’t, they don’t – I can live with that. That’s fine.’’

With your wife, Jessica Roberts, you have co-authored the children’s fantasy book series Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies. What prompted this career pivot?

I love fantasy. It’s always been one of my favourite genres. The series is about mummified animals who live in a lost city in the Egyptian desert. The audio books were the most fun because we got to speak like the characters, including a cat mummy who’s a dry, ironic teenager, sort of from the 90s.

You have called yourself “a tired dad”. Why have you postponed childcare for your kids, aged six and two?

We are so far subscribing to the outrageous notion it might be good to actually spend time with your own children. In today’s capitalist society you need a double income and soon we’ll probably have to switch over to that. I did think that maybe on my deathbed I would have liked to spend a few minutes with my kids. That would be nice.

Andrew Hansen is Cheap is at the Canberra Comedy Festival on March 26, then Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.