Music
Laugh a Minute… with Rama Nicholas in Mary Weather’s Monsters
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is here and to celebrate we are talking to our favourite comedians to find out all about the laughs that are in store.
Rama Nicholas is an amazingly talented actor, comedian and improviser. Her MICF show Mar Mary Weather’s Monsters is an amazing performance in which Rama Nicholas takes on 12 characters. Set in London in the 1800s, the show is full of monsters, cockney accents and laughs. Click here to purchase tickets.
The Comedy Festival runs until April 17 and features hundreds of comedy shows at various venues around Melbourne. Click here to purchase tickets for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Ticketmaster: The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is turning 30 this year! Can you tell me the significance of the festival and how it has impacted comedy in Australia over three decades?
Rama Nicholas: MICF has had a huge impact on comedy in Australia. Many of the big names in Australian comedy made their start here. It is such a wonderful platform for new and emerging artists. The festival has a huge impact on Melbourne itself, adding to the culture and vibrancy of the city. I think Melburnians are very proud of the MICF and it is always a super fun time of year.
Ticketmaster: When did you know you wanted to get into comedy?
Rama Nicholas: I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a performer. I was always doing school plays and musicals in secondary school and getting cast in the ‘character roles’ for my comic timing. Later when I trained as an actor I would get the strongest reactions from my audience and peers when I played comedic roles and strong characters. After that, aside from working as an actor, I became a professional improviser and never looked back. I tour, perform and teach improvisation around the world. I feel my journey has been about becoming a storyteller and I aim to affect my audience in many different ways. My solo shows are scripted and are very story and character driven. The comedy comes from the situations my characters find themselves in and their emotional journey. I play 12 characters in Mary Weather’s Monsters doing all the dialogue, accents and physicality, it’s kind of like a play or a movie as the story unfolds. Personally I have an incredible amount of fun performing this show.
Ticketmaster: If you could perform with any comedian who would it be?
Rama Nicholas: Simon Pegg. Tina Fey. Amy Schumer. Kristen Wiig. The Pyjama Men. League of Gentleman. Don’t make me choose.
Ticketmaster: Which comedians are you most excited to see during the Comedy Festival?
Rama Nicholas: Watson – Life Education Van for adults. Tegan Higginbotham. Liam Ryan. Derek Flores (El Jaguar) Impro Melbourne. Justin Hamilton. Cal Wilson. Andrew McClelland. Lawrence Leung. Jimmy Eaton and Jason Geary. Celia Pacquola. Damian Callinan. Geraldine Hickey. Harley Breen. Victoria Healy. Laura Davis. Alice Fraser. Lana Schwarcz. Geraldine Quinn. Nick Caddaye and Lisa Skye. Michelle Nussy. Monster of the week. Gordon Southern. Lawrence Mooney. Pyjama Men.
Ticketmaster: What makes you laugh?
Rama Nicholas: My husband, he is the funniest man on earth. You tube clips of British Bulldogs – bouncing on trampolines, riding skateboards, snoring, trying to sit in tiny boxes, cuddling kittens.
Ticketmaster: What are your tips for things to do in Melbourne if you are her to see comedy shows as part of MICF?
Rama Nicholas: Ok. Melbourne is an awesome city. If by night you are seeing comedy shows then by day you must eat. Eat food, as much as you can and drink coffee. Melbourne is obsessed with both of these things and you will find anything your heart desires. Fitzroy is a good place to start. Also Melbourne is full of cool little bars and shops you just have to look down any of the laneways in the city, just follow the graffiti and hipsters. I would recommend going to the zoo as well– it’s world class.
Ticketmaster: And to close, tell us your cheesiest joke…
Rama Nicholas: In my show Mary Weather’s Monsters my cheesiest joke is called ‘Dream Sequence’, it’s a visual gag, you have to come along and see it 😉
Rama Nicholas will perform at Trades Hall – Quilt Room until April 17. Click here to purchase tickets.
