By Alex Schlotzer:
Deadly Funny is about finding and supporting the funniest up-and-coming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander comedians in the country, a project made more interesting as they compete for a grand prize of $2,000.
The Grand Final is held during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and is all about shining a big fat MICF spotlight on that talent. Deadly Funny spends the year finding the best and funniest from a range of regional and metropolitan competitions.
Nor did the organisers disappoint this year! In front of an expectant crowd with nary a spare seat, we were served up 10 of the funniest ATSI comedians, a no-holds-barred evening of hilarity.
Andrew Yarran from Western Australia got the crowd started on this epic grand final with Josh Warrior from South Australia closing out the competitors. We had Denise McGuinness from Victoria serve up some very funny and dry humour about everyday life and Sam Conway provided some great laughs to fly the flag for Queensland. Sean Dow from WA was another standout performer with last year’s winner Shiralee Hood making sure the laughs kept coming.
A special appearance by Arj Barker and excellent MC work by Sean Choolburra kept the crowd’s laughing gear well warmed up between acts.
Indeed there was laughter aplenty with some in stitches for much of the night, always a sign of a successful comedy afternoon. Though the grand final ended up finishing well over time, no one really cared because we were too busy having a good time.
The comedians took us on a roller coast ride of laughs. It was an outrageously funny afternoon with some of the best comedy I’ve seen in a while. The eventual winner for the night was Victoria’s Denise McGuinness – a very deserving winner too.
It’s been going for 4 years and looks like it’s not going to end any time soon. If you missed out this year book early so you don’t miss out next year!
This year’s line up:
Andrew Yarran (WA)
Josie Atkinson (VIC)
Daniel Kearney (NSW)
Natasha Walsh (SA)
Sean Dow (WA) – Third Place and special mention
Phil Saunders (SA)
Sam Conway (QLD) – Second Place
Denise McGuinness (VIC) – First Place
Marlene Cummins (NSW)
Josh Warrior (SA)
Don’t forget to check out Deadly Funny’s website for more details about the competition and mob behind it.
Managing editor of theangle.org, Alex Schlotzer is a straight talker when it comes to politics and loves to vent his spleen. Actively involved in Australian and international politics with a keen understanding of the dynamics of the political machine, Alex has a prolific online presence and has been a cyber activist for over 15 years. When not working at his day job for the union movement, he can be found at his blog and his exciting online project Australian Politics TV
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