After bursting onto the scene in 2010 as a national finalist in Raw Comedy, Anne Edmonds has quickly become a favourite in the Australian comedy community over the last six years – presenting a string of different shows at comedy festivals around the country and appearing on Australian screens on shows such as It’s A Date and Back Seat Drivers. Her place within the community was well and truly cemented last year when she was awarded MICF’s coveted Piece of Wood award – as voted by her comedic peers.
“I’ve always presented my best hour of stuff,” notes Edmonds, “but it’s just a lovely thing that happened to me last year. Hopefully it will help more people discover me again this year. It’s given me a lot of confidence that award, knowing that the other comics think I’m doing a good job, so that helps.”
As a past winner, Edmonds will now join the judging panel for this year’s award. For anyone looking to impress, Edmonds has this advice.
“I think a lot of comedy is about being yourself on stage – 100 per cent. When people are genuinely expressing their ideas for the sake of comedy, rather than for the sake of getting famous or pleasing the mainstream – pushing the boundaries a bit and challenging the way people think – that’s often what makes a good show.”
Edmonds is known for the quirky characters she presents on stage, and her ability to tell their tales intertwined her own – all while plucking away on a banjo.
“I remember I got a one-star review in Adelaide once, and the guy said ‘Not only can Anne Edmonds not do comedy, but she also can’t sing’. That was always my fallback plan, to sing, so that was a bit of a double blow. It put me in bed for a couple of days,” laughs Edmonds.
After her award-winning run at the festival last year, Edmonds returns to MICF this year with That’s Eddotainment.
“It’s my brand new hour of stand-up,” explains Edmonds. “There’s a bit of stuff in there about relationships – a lot of it’s about trying to get people to like me. My stand-up is normally fairly personal. A lot of it comes from what’s been happening with my life and what I’ve observed in the world. Apart from that, I find a lot of inspiration from middle Australial; the average man on the street.”
In addition to her solo show, Edmonds will team up with fellow comics Damien Power and Greg Larsen for a show with The True Australian Patriots – a satirical reflection on Reclaim Australia and the United Patriots Front movements.
“I think it’s something that we wanted to shine a light on and make fun of,” explains Edmonds. “These groups are making certain parts of the community feel pretty horrible so we thought we’d have a go at them instead.
“I’ve always done a bit of character comedy. When I first started out I did an online sketch called Raylene the Racist, which is actually similar in context to True Aussie Patriots. It’s a bit sad because that was eight years ago and I don’t think we’ve moved forward very much since then.”
By Kelsey Berry
VENUE: Melbourne Town Hall – Cloak Room, Cnr Swanston & Collins St, CBD
DATES: March 24 – April 17 (except Mondays)
TIME: 7.15pm (Sundays 6.15pm)
TICKETS: $25 – $34
