Did you hear the one about the four Boomers who wanted to put on a comedy show?
Well, you can this Sunday, December 17 at the Potato Shed when four of Geelong’s best-loved entertainers present their brand-new, old-fashioned show, Stand-Up For Seniors.
Colin Mockett OAM, who leads the four-man troupe, has been a journalist, a broadcaster, a historian, even a fish and chip shop owner, but he is probably best known for his work in entertainment.
Part of comedy trio There Was an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman alongside Roy Carson and Ron Sutton, Mockett co-created the Concert of the Decade series at Costa Hall, established the Geelong Theatre Awards and founded the History Alive! Geelong Cemetery Tours, among other things.
For him, the new show represents a return to what made comedy great in years past.
“In comedy shows these days, jokes have been replaced by either outrage or a whole rant at society… they’ve all got a purpose, rather than just somebody standing there, having fun and telling jokes,” he said.
“So we put together this particular little show. We don’t use bad language, we don’t tell jokes about drug-taking or anything like that, (just) old-fashioned jokes.
“The jokes have to make us laugh, they have to be funny in the first place. And they have to be original if possible; it’s not the old jokes being rolled out or even varieties of the old jokes being rolled out.
“It’s new takes on life today from the point of view of four old codgers who are quite determined to have a bright and merry time without any reference to Christmas at all.”
Mockett will be joined on stage by three long-time colleagues; actor (and virologist) Bryan Eaton, actor (and teacher) Barry Eeles and legendary rock and roller Allan James.
“We have one aim in mind, and that is to leave everybody a lot happier than when they came in,” Mockett said.
“We’re going to have fun, and we’re inviting the audience to come along and have fun with us, without being nasty or using bad language or talking down to them. We just want people to have a lovely time laughing.”
