Wizard of Oz
There’s an Antipodean comic around every corner during the Festival but, as Brian Donaldson discovers, SARAH KENDALL’s got some special magic.
hy don't you go luck your shocs'.’ 'l‘hcrc‘s hccn a
cunt in thcm all day.~ l"rom that statcmcnt you‘d
think that Sarah Kcndall‘s pottymouth training has hccn going \‘cry wcll. But l‘car not. shc hasn‘t transmogrilicd into a hccry. aggrcssiyc. shouty comic. Shc is mcrcly lctting mc know all ahout thc kind ol comcdy which rcpcls hcr. ‘Anything stupid annoys mc.~ shc continucs whilc sipping col’l‘cc in a har ncar thc Alhany in London‘s (ircat Portland Strcct. haying just complctcd an lidinhurgh warm-up show. ‘And I hatc thc rcally high status comic. thosc who do this hixarrc comcdy god thing: "l'm going to tcll you how it is." And cycn il‘ somchody happcns to makc a noisc. thcy'll hc stupidly aggrcssiyc.‘
.\'ot that Kcndall is aycrsc to matcrial which might touch a l‘unny honc hcl‘orc twisting it around till it cramps. In last ycar‘s l‘i'iiigc‘ show. thcrc wcrc somc jokcs ahout childrcn and old pcoplc which could pointcdly hc dcscrihcd as ‘ol'l‘ colour". 'l‘hc rcsult was hardly thc l)cnis l.cary canccr walk-outs ol‘ thc carly ‘)()s. But in an agc whcn you arc morc likcly to lcayc a comcdy gig through outragc at paying oycr a tcnncr to hcar lamc matcrial l’rom mctro-comics droning cndlcssly on about London or to watch an ()sama hin l.adcn doppclgangcr trying in yain to kccp it togcthcr. you‘yc got to takc your dollop ol'contrm'crsy whcrc you can.
Kcndall. though. is askancc at thc thought shc may hayc injurcd anyonc‘s l‘cclings. ‘l likc childrcn. lloncst. I hayc a couplc ol‘jokcs at thcir cxpcnsc but I likc hanging out with thcm: thcy"rc a rcally good audicncc hccausc thcy laugh at cycrything. l'nlcss thcy"rc tormcntcd. .\'o. I didn‘t say that.’ And thc llarold Shipman stul‘l' ahottt him doing its all a favour hy dccrcasing thc cldcrly populacc‘.’ ‘l)id that comc across as crucl'." \Vcll. ycs. a hit. "l‘hcrc’s a ccrtain point whcrc I‘d think. “Do I rcally want to hc that old?" 'l‘hcrc's part oi inc that wondcrs how I'm going to l‘ccl whcn that happcns to mc. 'l'hcrc arc lots of old pcoplc who simply arcn’t nicc and it's clcarly a tricky thing to halancc. to gct rcally. rcally old and still hayc a happy lil’c.‘ l l'ccl compcllcd to hack hcr tip hy rctclling an incidcnt I had with an cldcrly gcnt on thc undcrground hcl'orc hcr show who appcarcd to hlamc mc hoth l'or thc loss ol' his walking stick and thc lact that hc was a ‘hloody pcnsioncr'. Kcndall looks at mc as though shc might. just might. takc this kcrncl and wicld it into a much funnier story at a latcr. onstagc datc. Which. al‘tcr all. is what comics do. ()hscryc. listcn. absorb and usc.
Kcndall. thc crcator oi shows ahout mcntal illncss (Sum/z Kendall is ll'vl/ B(l/(HI('('(/) and war ( Him is not afraid to pack a punch. But stupidly aggrcssiyc'.’ Nah. Just as wcll. rcally. l'or thc li'icnd ol’ Kcndall‘s cousin who strolch into tonight's gig at this tiny puh ycnuc a mcrc 20 minutcs latc. In hcr comcdy world. this proyokcs not a torrcnt ol' ahusc. hut thc kind of hrcc/y audicncc hantcr which is part ol‘ thc Kcndall charm. 'll‘ that was a sct-up. it was thc crappcst onc cycr: “Listcn. l‘yc got a brilliant idca. how about il‘ my cotisin‘s l'ricnd walks in hallway through?" That was a hit wcird. actually.‘
22 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 11' Am; I’(;(:~.'.
‘ST AND-UP IS USUALLY A GREAT WAY TO GET INTO VOMITING'
l)id Kcndall comc hallway across thc world from hcr natiyc Australia. only for pals ol‘ hcr family to intcrrupt hcr prc— lidinhut‘gh shows'.’ .\'o. shc camc oycr at thc cnd of thc 90s to hc with a particular linglishman and. soon cnough. to gct into thc stand-up gamc. Shc arriycd with just thrcc ycars’ comcdy
cxpcricncc undcr hcr hclt. haying lirst pcrl‘ormcd in front ol‘
l‘cllow studcnts at Sydncy l'niycrsity. whcrc Kcndall was majoring in modcrn history. ‘Stand-up is usually a grcat way to gct into vomiting hut this was a sal’c cnyironmcnt to gct stancd.’
It didn‘t stop hcr sull'cring l’urious houts ol‘ stagc fright. somcthing shc is still occasionally al’l‘cctcd hy. ‘lt was ol‘tcn such an ordcal to gct up on stagc and l was rcally irritatcd by this anxicty so cycntually. through cxposurc. it got lcss and clsc. 'l‘hcrc must hc somc logic hchind why it rcars its ugly hcad. I did a corporatc gig last wcck and was rcally ncryous and surc cnough. l was tcrrihlc. Mayhc it‘s somc kind of sixth scnscf Kcndall might harhour somc small ambition to gct into acting hut hcr hcst rolc. it sccms. has hccn in conyincing us that shc‘s onc ol thc most natural comcdy pcrl‘ormcrs on thc circuit.
‘thn doing comcdy is grcat. it‘s wondcrl’ul: whcn it‘s had it's awl'ul. th thcrc's this part of you that makcs you kccp going hack.’ Kcndall cxplains whcn raising thc analogy that comcdy is likc hcing in an ahusiyc rclationship. 'liycryonc has gonc though phascs whcn it‘s just tough. you’rc not happy with your idcas or whatcycr. l‘yc hccn through thosc patchcs. so it‘s good to hayc pcoplc you trust around to houncc off an idca. l'sually thcy happcn on ycry long car trips hctwccn gigs.’
'l’hc product ol‘ Kcndall hitting thc road in thc last 12 months looks likc hcing anothcr kiilcr show in which shc takcs apart gangsta rap yidcos (including a poolsidc dancc shc clcarly has prcparcd carlicr at grcat lcngth). rccounts hcing chcatcd by a high strcct clothing corporation and. possibly only partially. makcs up a long story ol’ hcr inahility to hc at a party and tcll strangcrs thc truth. Any jokcs ahout lraq'.’ .\'o. Nothing on thc royals'.’ .\'opc. Blair and Bush'.’ Not a sausagc. Which may wcll makc hcr thc most unprcdictahlc stand—up at this ycar‘s l’ringc.
And thcrc‘s a quicklirc scqucncc in which shc hrcaks up thc act with somc ycry l‘unny ad hrcaks. liycr hccn dupcd hy thc markcting pcoplc. yourscll“? ‘l was a hit drunk onc night and watching TV in Australia and thcy wcrc adycrtising a ho.\ sct ol’ showhi/ roasts hostcd hy l)can Martin or chry l‘onda or somchody and I wish to this day that I had bought it: hut that night I was just thinking. "No. you‘rc drunk and m'cr-cxcitcd." And I bought a httla hoop oncc. hut it smcllcd ol‘ huhhlc gum and I got horcd of it al‘tcr thrcc days. 'l'hat‘s prohahly thc worst consumcr mistakc l‘yc madc.‘ Buying thc cntrancc l‘cc into a Sarah Kcndall gig oycr thc coming month may hc thc hcst hit ol'comcdy husincss you'll do all ycar.
Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 7-30 Aug (not 10, 17), 9.35pm, 29.50411 0.50 (EB-£9). Previews 5&6 Aug, £5. Thanks to GNER for travel: www.gner.co.uk
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