E N T E R TA I N M E N T
THE AUSTEN SPACE This January, Austen Tayshus joins Mandy Nolan for a swag of gigs, up and down the coast. The Echo caught up with Austen, the comedic provocateur who’s had people laughing, shouting and running from the room for almost four decades. You are best known around the country for Australiana – why do you think that hit such a chord?
PALACE ENCORE! CHRISTMAS SEASON
NHOJ ‘ENDANGERED’
When the record was released in June 1983 there was a great deal of National pride around. This included Men at Works’ incredible successes, The America’s Cup triumph, Paul Hogan’s tourism campaigning and the likes of Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Jingoistic fervour and Aussie pride were everywhere. Australiana was just a part of the Zeitgeist. And it was hilarious. Everybody seemed to know the routine and you couldn’t go to a gathering without some Austen Tayshus ring-in reciting it as the entertainment. It was number one on the Aria chart for 13 weeks and became the biggest selling single of the year and subsequently the biggest selling Australian single ever.
‘If we include microbes, insects and all living beings that make up our fragile ecosystem, billions are threatened with extinction every 24 hours as a direct response to man’s footprint on the Earth. The animals I chose to paint in this series are those that are very much front of mind. Arousing an emotional response and hopefully a change in consciousness and a call to action’ – Nhoj. Ninbella hosts a superb collection of award-winning contemporary art – the work of Nhoj can be seen at the Ninbella gallery space in Bangalow.
How did your life change after that?
WELCOME TO THE INAUGURAL FIRST MEETING OF THE CWA!
Life changed for me overnight. Suddenly every celebrity was my mate. Michael Hutchence was at my house. Barnsey and Glenn Shorrock were my mates. Everyone couldn’t understand how a funny punny monologue could be so successful. Since then I have released many records, to less acclaim, but Australiana has enabled me to have a four decade career. I have loved every minute. How has the comedy landscape changed from when you started, to now? I was a comedy pioneer. I performed with the biggest bands in the country, doing a 40-minute routine before Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel, in front of thousands of rock and rollers. Nobody cared what you said. Comedy was about pushing boundaries, shaking things up, challenging social mores. I was never interested in pleasing a crowd or working to the lowest common denominator. I always tried to lift the bar, which often was misinterpreted, and I had to run away from many gigs. Comedy was alive and exciting. It has become dull, and attracts people who want to be famous rather than to be genuinely funny. Barry Humphries has always been my hero. What are the topics that you like to touch on at a ‘Tayshus gig? My shows are predominantly free flowing and improvised. Because I am a big reader they are up to date on current affairs and politics. The shows are aggressive and highly provocative. People leave. Irony is not a form that is widely understood. Sometimes no one is left in the audience at the end of the show. Audiences are often scared to sit up the front. Should they be? Most scared people now know not to sit up front. Because of the interactive nature of my shows I love to involve everyone in the room, starting with those in the front. Usually those who are offended, come to be offended. I aim to please. You have an adversarial style that provokes – why do you like to give your audience a hard time? Do they always get it? My shows are very theatrical. Whatever can happen is welcome. Pushing people adds to the unpredictability, and the danger makes me salivate. Exciting, outrageous, crazy and hilarious. I am always investing in what can happen. To draw on everything in the moment and encouraging chaos is what I do. It’s all about an experience that people will remember. What do you love about being a live performer? Live performance is tremendously rewarding. I have been involved in filmmaking, which is exciting, but the buzz is tempered by the amount of time it all takes. I can have an idea, try it out immediately and get a response straight away. Like a line of cocaine. I am impatient, so stand up suits me. I stumbled upon it, but it has certainly worked out. What can we expect for your local shows? My shows will be shocking, funny, moving and hilarious. If laughing out loud upsets you, don’t fucking come. Local shows are at the Byron Services Club on Monday, 6 Jan, and Lennox Bowlo on Sunday, 12 Jan – all shows $30 at the clubs or from mandynolan.com.au.
48 The Byron Shire Echo 'ĕĈĕŔćĕſ Ǩǯǽ ǩǧǨǰ
The (dis)organisation everyone’s been waiting for – the Country Witches Association is coming. Tired of waiting for change, creative women around the world are getting ready to stir the political pot – Mandy Nolan and Áine Tyrrell are bringing comedy and music to the boil, to facilitate dangerous dialogues and uncomfortable collaborations. The CWA’s First Meeting format invites the audience to participate, by becoming members, and suggesting topics for the agenda to be discussed by Mandy and Áine. This will be one of the show’s highlights as it has an unscripted, improvised format decided by the audience. The content will form the basis of the CWA podcast to be recorded as part of this innovative live show. Join the coven on Friday at the Brew House Theatre, Byron Brewery, 7.30pm and Sunday at 4.15pm.
Palace Encore! brings you the best in classic and cult cinema around the country. Contained within curated seasons, Palace Encore! will have your sleigh bells jingling for the silly season this December with a series of Christmas-genre gems. This Friday, the amazing It’s a Wonderful Life – Frank Capra’s story of an angel who is sent from heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman, by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed, will screen at 8.30pm. Tickets are the price of a stocking stuffer, at only $10 for Movie Club, and $15 for General Admission.
ALL SHORTS ENTRIES DEADLINE EXTENDED Byron All Shorts celebrates the film-making talent of the Northern Rivers region and encourages audiences to experience the many amazing films and local stories that are produced here each year. The best of local shorts from the Northern Rivers will screen in the Byron All Shorts finalists program on Sat, 1 Feb 4pm, alongside the best of the rest (Australia and the world) at Flickerfest International Short Film Festival running Thur 29 Jan, Fri 30 Jan and Sat 1 Feb. Filmmakers from across the region are invited to submit their short films, of up to 30 minutes in length, from all genres. Prizes and cash, to the value of around $3k, will be awarded for the Flickerfest-iQ Best Short Film Award, the SAE Qantm Emerging Talent Award, the Audience Award and more – recognising the incredible talent in our region. If you live in the Northern Rivers, or have produced a film in the Northern Rivers, or have made a film about the Northern Rivers, you can enter Byron All Shorts. Entries deadline has been extended until 27 December – just over 1 week to enter. Entry Forms & Info: iQ.org.au | 0414 779 881
VAN GOGH & JAPAN – EXHIBITION ON SCREEN ‘I envy the Japanese’, Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based – Van Gogh & Japan at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam – one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan, it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art. One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh. In this little-known story of Van Gogh’s art we see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today. Directed by David Bickerstaff, this event will screen on Sunday, 22 December at 3pm at the Byron Theatre. Tix $20 | Conc $18 | BT Club $18 | U18 $15 Book now: https://bit.ly/31QhX8T
ENTROPY AT BYRON Entropy is the final season for 2019 for Brisbane Ballet, with three distinct works that demonstrate how entropy works at an emotional and physical level in the universe. The first piece, Isolation, will enthral audiences with rippling movement, and partnering that defies gravity. Entropy, the second work, thrusts classical ballet technique into the hearts of everyone present with its extreme lines and non-stop athleticism. Finally, Equilibrium, will surprise many with its fusion of electronic music and ultra-classical ballet. There will be two performances at the Byron Theatre on Saturday, 21 December, 1.30pm & 7.30pm.
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