“It had a profound effect on my life, because it was the Best Of The Edinburgh Fest that bought me for the first time to Australia, which is now where I permanently live,” Burns says. “I had such a great time when I first did it, I’ve ended up living here. It’s been a big thing for me. I’d never really been to Australia before – or really thought about it before. Then that opportunity arose and I took it.”
British-born Burns had so much fun performing in Australia that he would often come over for several weeks at a time and perform runs of the clubs. Falling in love with the sunburned nation, he’s now been living here since July last year and it’s been a whirlwind of excitement. Throwing himself into the comedy scene as soon as he could, he now hosts Mornings on radio station Nova FM.
“I’d always loved watching comedy when I was a kid and it was on TV, but when you’re a kid and you live in a reasonably small town in England you just see comedy as something that famous people do,” Burns recalls. “I think it was my eighteenth birthday, and I went to a comedy club in North London called Jongleurs. It was pretty much for my birthday, and it was the first time I saw stand up.
I saw people like Alan Davies way before he was famous or on TV and I realised, ‘I can’t believe there’s a whole world, there’s a whole scene of these people coming up through the ranks’. The live artform was even better than anything that I’d seen on TV. Then I became a massive comedy fan. I was a punter going to as many shows as possible. It’s one of those things that I couldn’t not do anymore. It became a compulsion. I had to do it.”
Burns will join forces with Scotland’s Stuart Mitchell and Wales’ Lloyd Langford to unleash a barrage of laughs, in a performance that he can’t wait for. Describing his excitement as “waiting for Christmas in September,” Burns is focused and enthusiastic, keen to deliver his unique and hilarious perspective on the world – including Australia itself.
“You’ve got to know the sport,” Burns laughs. “Of all of the things, that’s the one thing you don’t want to muck up. I’ve taken it very slowly and very honestly. I’m more confident about the celebrities and the people on the TV, because you’re not going to be crucified if you get Richard Wilkins and Karl Stefanovic mixed up. If you get the different teams mixed up, or you say someone’s playing something else – I know that is a very bad move. I’ve yet to get my full colours in that one.”
By Jacob Colliver
Venues: Forum Theatre – Downstairs & Melbourne Town Hall – Lower Town Hall
Dates: Thursday March 30 – Sunday April 23 (bar Wednesdays)
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $27 – $36.90
