By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
STAND-UP veteran Matt Elsbury brings his pointed brand of observational comedy to Geelong next week.
Elsbury has made Geelong laugh a few times, both as a headliner and support act for comics such as Carl Barron.
After 15 joke-filled years in the industry, Elsbury said he was enjoying an upswing in the popularity of stand-up comedy.
“It’s cyclical but there are a lot of really good comedians coming through at the moment,” he said.
“Having a large talent pool to draw from means the whole comedy scene is more encouraging for others to give it a go.”
Elsbury gave stand-up a go himself during his university days in student theatre and improvisations.
“Stand-up was actually the last frontier and turned out to be the best,” he laughed.
Elsbury said he loved taking what often appeared ordinary or mundane in life and zooming in for a closer look.
“I like to pick things apart,” he mused.
“There are certain forms of stupidity I like to crack open and poke fun at. As a former English teacher I have a love of language, so there are everyday words and turns of phrase, perhaps in an advertisement or in a song, and it’s often not until we take a closer look that we see how bizarre it all is.”
Although Elsbury has a string of radio and television credits to his name, he said the adrenalin rush of working solo with an audience affected him every time.
“It’s very different working to camera or working an audience,” he explained.
“With an audience you don’t get a take two. You get it right or you’re doing a clean-up afterwards.
“It’s addictive. At the risk of sounding like a complete wanker, there’s a certain purity in just one person, their thoughts and an audience.
“Stand-up is the bungy jump of live performance. The fact that it could go horribly wrong adds an extra thrill.”
Elsbury will appear as part of a Comedy Geelong show at North Geelong’s Sphinx Hotel next Friday with the support of Geelong comedian Matt Klein, John Dore, Adam Francis Bigum, Adam Menzies and MC Linda Batson.
