Vegemite, disappointing parents: What to expect at comedy show

A Japanese-born comedian causing crowds to erupt in laughter across the country is set to visit Toowoomba on a national roadshow tour, alongside four other comedians.

Laughs will be heard across Toowoomba on Thursday night when five popular comedians give the Empire Theatre a taste of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Among the jokesters stepping on stage will be Takashi ‘Waka’ Wakasugi who moved to the land down under from his Japanese hometown Toyota, five years ago.

“In 1959 the town changed its name to Toyota to honour the success of (the automotive manufacturer),” Mr Wakasugi said.

“Everyone at home loves Toyota. My parents are a bit disappointed I don’t work at Toyota.”

The 33-year-old first arrived in Australia in 2012 as an exchange student and fell in love with the world of comedy when he started attending stand-up gigs in Sydney.

After returning to Japan where he worked in the human resources department of Nikon, Mr Wakasugi saved up enough money to move to Australia permanently in 2018 to pursue comedy full-time.

Takashi Wakasugi is one of the five comedians from this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival set to visit the Empire Theatre on Thursday. Picture: Contributed

He has since appeared on Tonightly With Tom Ballard and reached a huge milestone in his career in April when he performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and received the Director’s Choice Award.

Despite the incredible achievement all while delivering content in his second language, Mr Wakasugi said he still occasionally gets nervous when he steps on stage.

“Sometimes I can’t see people’s faces on stage because of the spotlight, but it’s great when you hear the laughter after a punchline,” he said.

“If I bomb and it goes silent I just get sad, say ‘sorry Waka wasn’t funny’ and think about working for Toyota again.”

Comedians (from left) Gillian Cosgriff, Takashi Wakasugi and Geraldine Hickey are three of five from this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival set to visit the Empire Theatre on Thursday. They will also be joined by Kevin Kropinyeri and Harry Jun (not pictured). Picture: Contributed

Unlike traditional Japanese humour which mostly involves character sketches, Mr Wakasugi said he enjoyed the Aussie format of stand-up as audiences receive more than a laugh.

But the Japanese-born comedian admits the biggest culture shock he’s faced is all about Australia’s homegrown breakfast spread.

“I still don’t know how much Vegemite to put on,” he said.

“If I put too much on it’s disrespectful to the toast but if I don’t put enough on I’m a coward.”

Joining Mr Wakasugi at the 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in Toowoomba on Thursday will be comedians Geraldine Hickey, Gillian Cosgriff, Harry Jun and Kevin Kropinyeri.

Running from 8pm, the roadshow event which has been running for 25 years, runs for 115 minutes with a 20 minute intermission.

It will be the first time Mr Wakasugi visits the Garden City and said he was very excited for the trip despite his parents responding ‘where?’ to the news.

Tickets can be purchased online at empiretheatre.com.au