Wit something to crow about
Australians are masters at the art of laughing in the face of adversity and a new three-part ABC series sets out to laud the larrikins, celebrate the subversives, champion the little guys and give a big round of applause for the suburban housewives who have made us laugh on TV as well as film, stage, radio and online.
The series opens with footage of Garry McDonald, as his infamous alter ego Norman Gunston, becoming part of political history by standing on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra after Gough Whitlam was dismissed in November 1975.
"That one image says everything you need to know about Australian comedy," Steve Vizard says.
"We always struggle to work out what is our national characteristic," Andrew Denton adds. "It is that. When things are darkest, we still find a way to take the piss."
A year in the making, the three-part series, narrated by Eric Bana, features extensive archival footage mixed with interviews with more than 60 comedy luminaries, including Barry Humphries, Noeline Brown, Jane Turner and the Doug Anthony All Stars.
The episodes have been themed along the notions of looking upwards, looking inwards and looking outwards.
The first, called Faark, Faark after Graham Kennedy's "obscene" 1975 crow calls, explores the comedians who have pushed the envelope and challenged authority.
Episode two, Look at Moi, Look at Moi, examines our ability to laugh at ourselves, from mousy Moonee Ponds housewife Mrs Norm Everage (who went on to become global superstar Dame Edna) and Fountain Lakes hornbags Kath and Kim, to Aussie battlers such as Kenny and larrikin Paul Hogan. This episode also explores the rise of multicultural comedy such as Nazeem Hussain's Legally Brown and indigenous comedians including Mary G.
The final episode, Hello Possums, looks at how Australian comedy and comedians have translated to the world stage.
"Looking upwards is obviously about us looking at the big guy and using our comedy to satirise and pull down those in power and have a poke at those in power," executive producer Jennifer Collins explains.
"Episode two, Look at Moi, Look at Moi, from Kath & Kim, looks inwards and sources comedy from the familiar and the ordinary.
"Episode three is looking outwards, Australians taking on the world stage, how Australian comedians made it on to the world stage, what the journey was like as they were hitting the shores.
"It's also about the world seeing our comedians when they came into Australia, with the eyes being on us during the Olympics, Roy and HG doing the Dream program, or Norman Gunston in the early days interviewing celebrities as they came on to our shores. That's where it all started."
WA comedians, including Judith Lucy, Rove McManus and Tim Minchin, feature throughout the series, as does Rodney Rude's infamous arrest for obscenity in WA in 1985, which he successfully challenged in court.
"It is a debate that continues today in terms of freedom of speech, in terms of what comedians can say and what they can't say," Collins says. "And that is something comedians often get asked, what is the sacred cow and how far can you go with your comedy?
"I think it was important to show that throughout history, comedy has pushed the boundaries, it has created noise, it has offended some. What is funny to one person is often not funny to someone else."
Minchin features predominantly in episode three.
"Tim talks a lot in episode three about making it on the world stage, what it means to him, in terms of what Australian humour is and what his voice is," Collins says.
"He is such a master of satire and he has had that challenge of what is acceptable and what's not acceptable. He has found a very strong audience and made a fantastic career for himself worldwide.
Adam Hills is also in episode three and talks about the fact Australian comedians can look to the world for their career, it's no longer 'Am I going to make it in Australia' but 'Am I going to make it worldwide?'
"The doors are well and truly open now to comedy on the world stage," Collins says.
