What’s so funny about mining? Comedian Xavier Toby reckons stories about what happened to him during his six months in a fly-in-fly-out admin job at an undisclosed location in Western Australia are good for a laugh. “It’s a fish out of water story,” he says, of his MICF show, ‘Mining’ My Own Business. “The show’s about what life is really like on a mining site.” Toby insists that he’s not judging the mining industry or patronising anyone he met out west but reckons many of the lols come from him spending time with people from very different backgrounds. “The humour is in anecdotes about the drinking and the smoking, the safety procedures. ‘Mining’ My Own Business is a story,” he continues. “With a narrative structure. It’s got a beginning, a middle and an end.”
What took this remarkably modest comedian to work at a mining site in the first instance? “To restart a stalled comedy career,” Toby answers. “I was making a living in Australia out of comedy then I went to Edinburgh. People came to my show but things went very wrong, they were out of control and I lost a lot of money.” Isn’t there comedy in that story or is it just not a bit funny? “It’s too self-referential,” Toby answers. “I don’t like talking about myself too much. I don’t find myself that interesting. The fly-in fly-out experience is a better premise for a show than a comedian who’s lost money. What actually happened in Edinburgh is not that exciting. The people I met at the mine, they were working hard to support their families, to put their kids through school. Their lives in some ways have more validity than a comedians.”
Toby wants to reach as many people with his work as a performer and a writer. “People come to this show who might not be engaged with the arts. Sometimes it’s the first show they’ve been to.” The first challenge is simply to make it funny. “Comedy is a job – my job is to make people laugh,” Toby reckons. “If you make someone laugh they are going to listen to the next thing you say. It’s a tacit agreement. It’s a terrible feeling in a room when no-one laughs. When you’re on stage, they are either going to laugh or they’re not, and you quickly find out if people aren’t laughing. And it’s so extremely rewarding when they do laugh. People who work at mining sites themselves are responding well to the show; I’m getting fantastic feedback from people who do that sort of work.”
Toby’s aware of the controversy surrounding the industry. “I’m not saying it’s right or wrong,” he says. “I’m not there to pass judgement. The fly-in-fly-out workers are referred to as ‘cashed up bogans,” he continues. “But everyone in Australia is a little bit bogan. People are a lot more varied than we think; everyone’s a little bit hipster, too. Once you get to know someone you realise they have their opinions, things they care about, their stories.”
The sometime journalist has also penned a book with the same name as his show about his experiences, published by the University of Western Australia. “It’s in a particular style, a comedic style,” Toby explains. “Comedic writing is different from writing for performance. It’s important to me not to sound like I think I’m better or worse than anyone else. I didn’t want to sound condescending. I’m getting nice feedback; people say it’s funny. Most refreshingly, a tradesman told me he hadn’t read a book since year ten but he liked mine.”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
Venue: Portland Hotel – Portland Room, Cnr Russell & Lt Collins St, CBD
Dates: Currently playing until April 20 (except Mondays)
Times: 6pm (Sundays 5pm)
Tickets: $15-$20
