I snuck in to see Anthony Morgan on my brother’s ID at the Prince Pat in 1995 and he did a full set about how because was living out of his car he had been forced to give his dog away. It was simultaneously the funniest and saddest stand-up I’ve ever seen, pure hilarious pain. Ever since then Morgan has been my comedy equivalent of Neil from Michael Apted’s 7-Up series of films and I like to check in and see how he is going – I’m not involved in his life but I am invested. Well, Anthony is back at the comedy festival and more Morgany than ever.
Music For Goats is a comedy show about Morgan’s attempt to return to doing comedy shows. He’s been living down in Tassie, casual labour concreting is killing him and he needs cash to put a roof on his house. From the mouth of anyone else it would sound like a cynical plea for audience sympathy, but Anthony Morgan has always lived his stand-up and leaving the wife still building a house by herself is up from where he has been. He has fallen comfortably into the grumpy elder statesman of comedy role, grousing about skinny leg jeans and the lost art of a raked stage, but the show and Morgan are far smarter and darker than that. He has remained sharp and angry, taking down the traditional comedy festival “show needs a narrative” he refuses to finish the show on the easy climax and plunges into the abyss.
Morgan is back, rush to see him before is disappears off into the wilderness again.
BY JACK FRANKLIN
