The funny season is back, and comedians are busy “cooking up” jokes for shows in the Melbourne and Sydney comedy festivals.
Among them, Greek Australians will sprinkle a dash of their own ethnic “flavours” to the mix.
The Melbourne Comedy Festival runs from March 27 to April 21, at various city venues and the Sydney Comedy Festival will keep the laughter going from April 22 to May 19, with an impressive lineup of over 750 comedians this year.
“This year marks a monumental chapter for Sydney Comedy Festival, as we proudly roll out our largest and
most vibrant program to date with Sydney stages set to host over 750 comedians. We can’t wait to fill the
city with a kaleidoscope of comedic talent with everything from ground-breaking newcomers shaking up
the comedy scene to the household names we all know and love,” said Sydney Comedy Festival Director
Jorge Menidis at a media release sent to Neos Kosmos.
Anthony Locascio, “Pappou”
Anthony Locascio, a comedian of Greek and Italian heritage, who has been making waves in the stand-up scene for the last seven years, is back on tour with his latest show, “Pappou,” turning family affairs into comedy.
“The show is based on the life of my pappou, but it is more so about me than it is about him. It compares what it was like to be a man in the 60s versus what it is to be a man nowadays,” Anthony Locascio told Neos Kosmos.
Locascio’s grandfather immigrated to Australia from Greece in the 1950s.
Although he wished to pursue a career as a professional footballer,”he had to go and become a handyman to put food on the table.”
“There was no facility for him to go and chase a different kind of dream or be a different kind of man.”
Reflecting on generational differences regarding identity, Locascio notes that while “being a Greek immigrant was very limiting” in the past, he believes that “now is a better time not only to be a man, but also an immigrant in Australia.”
“In a lot of ways, I feel privileged to be the recipient of the sacrifices that not only my pappou, but all my grandparents made in coming here and seeking a better life for their family. The sacrifices that they made meant that this is less of a racist, homophobic, sexist, and overall ignorant and hateful world. And that is due in part to the sacrifices and the work of generations done before us.”
Despite his background in the insolvency industry, Locascio decided to make a bold leap into comedy, and in his latest show, he tackles issues such as homophobia, racism, and vaping addiction.
However, when his grandfather fell ill that he decided to tell his pappou’s story and use it as a “vehicle to talk about all these things,” that he wanted “to talk about anyway.”
Locascio “really did not want to be known as the Greek Italian guy,” he did eventually acknowledged that ethnicity is a fundamental part of one’s identity and life.
“To completely ignore it when it comes to mining your life’s material is quite asinine. I’ve tried my best to find a way to blend commentary that I’m making about my world and my life in with my ethnicity. It is an influence, but it’s not THE influence.”
After debuting in Adelaide and “testing the waters” with two trial shows in Sydney, Locascio is set to take the stage at Bard’s Apothecary in Melbourne for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival running from Wednesday, March 27th, to Wednesday, April 10th.
His tour then moves to Manning Bar in Sydney from Wednesday, May 8th, to Friday, May 10th, as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival, before heading to Perth and Brisbane.
Effie, “UpYourselfness”
With confidence as voluminous as her hair, Effie, the beloved stage persona of Mary Coustas, takes her newest show ‘Upyourseflness’ on a nationwide tour.
“Being up yourself is a big part of being Greek. I don’t know many insecure Greeks put it that way,” she tells Neos Kosmos, with her signature Effie charm.
Kicking off her tour at the Adelaide Fringe Festival on March 9 and 10, within the Spiegeltent at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, temperatures rose high amidst a heatwave, and Effie’s fiery persona ensured the heat was cranked up even higher.
“I generate a lot of heat anyway, so put that on top of the heat wave! It must have been low 40s on that stage, it was like an infrared sauna.”
Effie guides us through the social and political complexities of humanity’s ongoing identity crisis, prompting us to take a moment to think about the importance of self-expression without being constrained by political correctness or ‘wokeness’.
“I think a lot of us are propped up by a culture that really encourages individuality and character and all those things that we are being robbed of,” she observes.
“In this politically correct world, where freedom of speech is being squashed and minimised we’re losing our powers – not in Greece, mind you, but certainly in the Western countries.”
Amidst the significant pressures caused by socio-political imbalances, wars, or the COVID pandemic, Coustas describes comedians as “the paramedics arriving to resuscitate society.”
“We are the first people that need to comment on that stuff in a free space, which is on stage and bring an enlightening and entertaining perspective to what are the issues of the day in the world. That is what comedy does. It relieves the pressure.”
She goes on to say that “now more than ever comedy is needed” to release tension through laughter and understanding, offering insights into the human experience.
In her opinion, “Greeks know that stuff,” viewing them as both “petty and profound,” just like “sage children.”
Effie speaking on behalf of Mary, or Mary on behalf of Effie, points to the different attitudes towards the art of arguing between Greeks and Australians.
“In Greece debating is their best and most popular sport, next to smoking and frapes. People are not afraid to voice their opinions, they expect people to disagree. They do not argue, they just debate healthily.
“That’s what Plato and Socrates, were doing, they would keep asking questions, to get closer to the truth. It’s okay to say, ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I’ve changed my mind’. It is about what I think and who I am. And that is my right.”
Effie has established herself as a brand attracting both media attention as well as large audiences with her performances.
Together with Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris, and Simon Palomares, she played a crucial role in paving the way for a new generation of culturally diverse comedians.
Their groundbreaking stage show in Australia, Wogs out of Work, challenged racial stereotypes giving ethnic comedy a new meaning.
Coustas asserts that her gender “was not a problem” while navigating the world as a female comedian.
“I’m an icon, a Mega star. I’m up myself. When you’re up yourself, you don’t think of what isn’t. You’re just so busy luxuriating in what is and what I am is an asset to the world, women, Greeks, ethnics, or anyone that has been in a minority that feels that society hasn’t known that they are relevant or important.
I don’t wait for approval from the outside world, I approve of myself internally. As for the looks…I just won the lottery in the looks department, you know.”
Effie will be performing at George Fairfax Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival, on Friday 12th April, Saturday 13th April, Thursday 18th April and Friday 19th April, at 8pm.
She will then make her way to Sydney, where she’ll perform at the Factory Theatre on Friday, May 17th in Marrickville & the Concourse on Saturday, May 18th in Chatswood as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival at 7pm, before continuing on to Camden and Brisbane.
Chris Demos, “Legs in the Pool”
Chris Demos, a Greek Australian will make his first dip at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in March and April with his show “Legs in the Pool”.
His show reflects his personal journey, including themes of identity, cultural background, and coming out as gay to his Greek family.
In an interview with Michael Georgiou, Demos opened about his struggles of coming out as well as his fear of his family rejecting him because of their traditional values.
“My parents worked a lot, so I spent a lot of time with my yiayia and papou, and that is where the very traditional stuff came in,” he told Neos Kosmos.
He also acknowledged the cultural differences between Greek Australians and Greeks in Greece, often referring to the “cultural jetlag” experienced by second and third-generation Greek Australians.
Now that Greece has legalised same-sex marriage, Demos says the timing of his show could not be better.
Chris Demos’ show ‘Legs in the Pool’ will be at Tasma Terrace in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival from Wednesday March 27 to Sunday April 7, 6pm.
*Comedy shows will also be taking place in Adelaide Fringe Festival from February 16 to March 17, Canberra Comedy Festival from March 16 to March 26, Hobart Festival of Comedy from March 22 to March 23, Perth from April 22 to May 19, and then Brisbane from April 26 to May 26.