A massive hit

Dave Hughes hit Perth with a bang, bang, bang this week in the form of his new show "Massive". The banging being his audience slapping their knees in fits of riotous laughter. This show is part of the lead up to the Melbourne Comedy Festival later this month. Hughes' deadpan style has made him a sell out crowd pleaser across Australia.

Hughes says he gets most of his material from his own life and the "ridiculousness of being alive". He attributes the popularity of his shows to the fact that he doesn't look like he is trying to be funny. "Massive" is no exception, in fact, a lot of the time Hughes looked like he was struggling to remember what he was doing at all. This vague and fractured approach was nonetheless one of the best stand up gigs I have ever seen. The show was an hour and a half of belly laughs.

I asked Hughes what he thinks makes him funny. He told me in his opinion the secret to comedic success is simple. You need to discuss topics people can relate to. You need to do it in an honest and unpretentious way. In Hughes own words, "you have to get beyond your own bullshit".

Hughes' style is very Australian. I was not sure if international audiences would understand what he was saying let alone find what he said funny. Hughes has spent some time on the international comedy circuit and he says that his style works well overseas, particularly London and Scotland.

He spent some time last year in New York and Montreal with varying degrees of success. Hughes says that "people are similar" no matter where you go. He feels the best thing to do is relax and the audience will usually follow. He did mention that American audiences were fascinated by his accent. He was asked by one curious American "How do you speak like that?"

He is best known for his "dole jokes", with the success has now the unemployment queue is a thing of the past. Hughes told me that success has in some ways made it harder for him. His shows are about what is going on in his life; he has found that people don't find success funny.

Hughes has many strings to his bow. He does breakfast radio for NOVA in Melbourne, the Glasshouse with Wil Anderson and Corinne Grant and he can usually be found doing a stand up gig somewhere around the place. Oh and who can forget his wonderful Le Tan advertisement? Dave Hughes is "Iconic, Ironic" in his own right these days.

When asked about his many commitments Hughes' response was that he feels he should prepare more, and though he hides it better than any comedian I have ever seen, he feels that it is very hard to be funny on cue all the time.

Like any comedian Hughes has horror stories of stand up gigs gone wrong. He told me about his first gig, which was here in Perth, where no one laughed. He went home and his flat mate asked how it went. When he told him no one laughed the flat mate's response was. "That's because YOU are not funny". Hughes possesses a talent many comedians do not. He has the ability to find the humor in almost anything, particularly his own downfall. He is a credit to the quality of Australian comedy.

Nicole Scanes