If there’s one thing we like at Time Out, it’s a good comedian. And if there’s one thing we love, it’s three of them in a row. Put your hands together, then, for The Laughter Factory, which is once again bringing in a trio of professional talent from all over the world.
First up is Rainer Hersch, a half-British, half-German musician and comedian with eight Edinburgh Festival shows under his belt. Now granted, his Teutonic ancestry might not bode well for comedy fans – Germans are notoriously unfunny people, as any xenophobe will tell you – but Hersch comes recommended by papers as diverse as London’s Daily Telegraph and The Orlando Sentinel in the good ol’ US of A. Hersch’s brand of musical comedy has been compared to maverick British funnyman Bill Bailey, but it tends to take a more highbrow approach; his first breakout show was All Classical Music Explained, which covered such topics as ‘How to play instruments without practicing’ and ‘Why is organ music so boring?’
Now if that sounds a little too unconventional for your tastes, don’t worry; laid-back Irishman Owen O’Neill is also on the bill, offering over 20 years of consummate comedy experience as both a storyteller and stand-up.
Expect observational comedy and shaggy dog stories in equal measure, but see him while you can; O’Neill also makes a living as a scriptwriter and actor for TV and radio, having written both sitcoms and feature films, which means he doesn’t do the stand-up circuit as much as his contemporaries.
That said, when he does go on tour, he finds success all over, having made appearances on major US TV shows, including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He’s also writing a novel and a screenplay for a feature film as well as maintaining his comedy career. It’s a wonder the poor man has time to sleep at night.
Concluding the globe-spanning set-up, is Australia’s Wayne Deakin, a regular headliner at many Aussie comedy venues. Deakin’s brand of comedy combines laconic delivery and biting social commentary in a way that has made him popular worldwide, with tour appearances in New York, Conneticut and the Montreal Comedy Festival. He’s also a charitable chap, making a point of performing for the Australian Defenses Forces, including performing at gigs in Iraq and Afghanistan for the force’s diggers, and remains the only comedian to be selected to tour UN bases in the Middle East. Not bad for a bloke from Melbourne.
Hersch, O’Neill and Deakin play The Laughter Factory at Heroes, Crowne Plaza, on Tuesday April 15, 9pm-late, 95Dhs, call 800 4669 or visit www.itptickets.com.
