Jon Brooks, 2011 Adelaide Fringe winner of Best Comedy by an Emerging Artist, is known for his political savvy and razor sharp wit. He’s a former journalist, newspaper editor, political speech writer and spin-doctor-turned-stand-up-comedian and he’s returning to the 2013 Fringe with his show, One Night Rant, on 9th March to complete the One Night Only With… series of comedians at The Maid.
“I’m glad I’m closing the One Night Only With… series because I’m sure if I was on first, no one would come back to see the other shows!”
Brooks is a former contributing writer for Rove whose political comedy has earned him a unique reputation in Australian comedy circles. He’s been described as “the acid-tongued political comedian this country has been waiting for” but Brooks says crowds shouldn’t be put off by fears the show is going to be dry and just for the politics-junkies out there.
“At the end of the day I’m just telling jokes, I’m not trying to change people’s minds or ‘fight the power’ – I’m just poking fun at people and things that deserve it. Think of me a guy who vents his frustrations over a beer rather than someone looking to change the world.
“My comedy tends to come from a bit of a working class underdog perspective too, because I grew up in Port Pirie, so people don’t need to take out a subscription to the Fin Review before they come to my show – just bring a beer and an open mind.”
And with just a one-night-only show at this year’s Adelaide Fringe, he’s throwing caution to the wind and reviewers be damned!
“When you’re doing a whole season it’s important to tell the same story every night so when people to read the reviews, they know what they’re going to get,” he explains. “This year though, I’m just doing a once-off show so stuff the theme and stuff any idea of redemption! I’m just going to whinge for an hour about stuff that peeves me off and hopefully make it a funny night for people who like what I do.”
Brooks goes on to say that some old favourite gags will get a final salute for the fans before retiring them, but the rest of the night will be topical, with a high probability of “Kim Kardashian and a few other celebs” getting taken down a peg.
“It’ll be a real departure from what I’ve done in the past,” Brooks admits, which is one of the reasons why the show will also be recorded for audio download from his website www.jonbrookscomedy.com
“Recording the show is an experiment more than anything,” he says. “I want people to experience what an hour of venting is like rather than a structured show with a nicely rounded out ending. Hopefully I don’t say anything too defamatory. Having said that, my shows are always promoted as being angry, opinionated and political, so there’s little chance people will be surprised by what they hear. It has happened, though – at the 2012 Fringe I had people demand their money back because they’d accidentally seen my show instead of a G rated showcase which was on next door.”
As a general rule, however, Adelaide-based Brooks believes that political satire goes down well with the average Fringe goer, as Australians are passionate about how this country is run.
“I think we respond well to jokes about the things in life that frustrate us the most, and what’s more frustrating than politics?”
One Night Only With…
Venue: The Maid hotel, 1 Magill Rd, Stepney
Season: Radio Noir (21/2), Julia Clarke (23/2), and Jon Brooks (9/3)
Duration: 50 minutes
Tickets: $21.00 – $23.00
Bookings: FringeTix or at the door if not sold out
Related articles
More News
