What’s easier, teaching a comedian to sing or turning an opera singer into a funny man?
Comedian Colin Lane and opera star David Hobson bring their show In Tails to Geelong this month in hopes of answering that very question.
“The conceit is that I want to get to sing an aria with David Hobson,” said Lane.
“So the whole show is me asking about the discipline required with opera, the breathing, the bowing, the flowers… Is it all about the soprano dying at the end, or somebody coming out wearing big horns?
“These are the kinds of things we talk about. David has to prepare during the whole day with a light salad, hydration and lots of rest, whereas comedians warm up by smoking and having a few beers before the show.”
While Hobson and Lane have been friends for more than 25 years, their careers were largely separate until the time Lane found himself filling in as a late replacement on a cruise ship where Hobson was performing.
The pair found themselves asked to fill a 30-minute spot and went with the bit of Hobson trying to teach Lane how to sing opera.
“We did the 30 minutes and it was one of the highlights of my whole life, to tell you the truth,” Lane said.
“I got to sing opera in front of a 40-piece orchestra with David Hobson. And we’ve extended and workshopped and refined the show since then.”
The pair premiered In Tails at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2016 to much acclaim, continuing to intermittently perform the show at festivals ever since.
For both men the challenges of taking on the other’s artform are confronting. For Hobson, the unpredictability of comedy took some adjusting to.
“(With opera) we have a roadmap, we know exactly how we’re meant to get to that destination,” Hobson said.
“Whereas with Colin, it’s just using the stars and the moon, basically, using your intuition to get to the end of the show.
“I love that, but it’s totally different. It’s a little bit scary but also, in many respects, a lot more satisfying.”
While Hobson said Lane has “a really good set of pipes”, singing alongside one of the nation’s most accomplished tenors is understandably intimidating.
“I’m on stage with David Hobson, for God’s sake; I’m singing my heart out, but there’s such a massive chasm between our skills… I’m on tenterhooks,” Lane said.
“But I think the audience can sense that David and I are friends. There’s that energy right from the start of the show where they go ‘those guys are having a good time’ and that’s infectious.”
In Tails is at the Geelong Arts Centre on Saturday, August 17.
