Ask A Comedian: Michelle Brasier
3 min read
Michelle Brasier is an Australian comedian, actor, singer and
writer, known for comedy group Aunty Donna, comedy duo Double Denim and solo
stand-up like her new show Reform. Ian Chaddock asks her about her
funniest experiences…
What stand-up special or comedy film made you fall in love with comedy?
The Tim Minchin documentary So F**king Rock really
set me on the path I'm on. My favourite specials are storytelling
or absurd ones. I love Mike Birbiglia, Jenny Slate. I really prefer to see
comedy live. The movie Bridesmaids was huge for me. And all of
Christopher Guest’s films.
What do you remember about your first time doing stand-up?
I
actually didn't do it on purpose! I was doing what I thought was cabaret
because I went to music theatre school and I was desperate for attention in-between
auditions and then people were like “this is funny!” The first time I did
proper standup without any songs was at a comedy night in Edinburgh called
Spank at Underbelly. It was an absolutely bonkers late-night show and the first
time I'd been booked on it.
"I was dressed as a tortoise ready to do this weird character bit where a tortoise sings Celine Dion"
I turned up dressed as a
tortoise ready to do this weird character bit where a tortoise sings Celine
Dion (obviously) and realised the crowd was a, really drunk, and b, really into
the straight stand-up, so I took off my shell and just sort of did a few jokes.
It was fine.
What’s the weirdest heckle you’ve ever heard and how did you reply?
Once at Late n Live a guy yelled out “my daughter’s fitter
than you” and everyone booed him. I think I said “guys, guys, it’s OK that this
guy fancies his daughter, we’re very open minded here”, or something? I don’t
get many hecklers!
What has been your funniest live show experience?
Michelle Brasier tours the UK in May and June with her new stand-up show Reform
I did an
album tour with Aunty Donna and for one of the boys’ birthdays we had cake and
candles that caught fire. Once in a Double Denim show I chipped a tooth with a
microphone and made an audience member hold the chip for the rest of the
show.
As well as stand-up, your shows include singing and dancing. Have you always done that?
I was always a song and dance man. I love musical
theatre. All the old Broadway dames are the best comedians really. If you're a
storyteller, you use every weapon at your disposal.
"I don't want to see a comedian be cool, I just want to see them be a talented silly billy"
Too many comics are too
cool. I don't want to see a comedian be cool. I want to see them be a talented
silly billy.
You also voice a character on the adult animated comedy series Koala Man. Do you like using these different skills for comedy?
As well as stand-up, Michelle Brasier has done voice acting for comedy animation shows
I love working on animations. I wrote with the Koala
Man team on another Adult Swim animation called Yolo and we had so
much fun because obviously, anything can happen when there are no budgetary
restraints on settings or extras. I'm an actor before anything else so it's so
nice to play a million different characters in each episode. The vocal booth is
a lovely place to be and I find Michael Cusack’s drawings so
evocative as someone from regional Australia. I love getting into the little
characters the most.
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you in your life?
OK, strap in. I had a cyst in my nether regions and I was
travelling. I was freshly out of hospital having had the wound drained and on
holiday in New York when I found myself in an airport bathroom confronted with
what they in the medical community call a “complication”. I took photos of the
intimate area to send to my doctor and then my flight was cancelled. I had to
get to Canada to do Just For Laughs Montreal and so my partner and I hired a
car to drive across North America.
"I handed the man at border control my phone open to photos with medical photos of my nether regions"
On the wrong side of the
car, wrong side of the world, wrong side of the road and I couldn't drive
because just as we hired the car I got a text saying I had forgotten to renew
my licence. So my partner drove all the way with me sitting on a little doughnut
seat typing away desperately changing the “port of entry” on our Canadian work
visas and screenshotting everything in the hopes that they would still let us
in even though we were approved only to enter by air.
We finally pulled up to
the border and I hand the lovely French Canadian man my phone open to my
photos, say “just scroll, they're all there” and I forget that also in my
recent photographs sits close-ups of my medical photos taken in an airport
bathroom.
Your new stand-up comedy show is about how you ended up being the emergency contact for a stranger who tried to scam you out of your money. What can you tell us about that and what can people expect from the show and tour?
The show takes a lot of texts and phone calls between me and my
scammer and brings them to life in the most upsetting way for both me and the
audience. Reform is a call to arms for people to see the best in people,
even when they keep showing you their worst. I really believe in that. It's
nice to see the best in people and at the very worst it's at least a funny
story.
Michelle Brasier will tour the UK and Ireland in May and June with her new
show Reform. See mickperrin.com/tours/michelle-brasier-reform/ for tickets
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