“I’ll know I’ve made it when I’ve got a fridge with an icemaker. Not only an icemaker, one that makes crushed ice,” says Dane Baptiste. “One where I can fit a whole pint glass in it.” Baptiste is one of the stars of UK comedy show New Order UK. We say ‘star,’ because Baptiste was nominated for the Fosters’ Edinburgh Comedy Best Newcomer Award, the first black comic to be nominated, although the title went to a white guy (Alex Edelman). Not for that the reason. ‘Observational comedy at its finest’ is what The Independent said about Baptiste. He was born in the UK to parents from Grenada in the Caribbean and this background informs much of his comedy. “I think I’m a bit more surreal,” he says about himself. “It’s my personal opinion about stuff. My ideas, my observations.” Baptiste saw himself as something of a misfit growing up, he wasn’t like the white kids, but he wasn’t like many of the black kids, either. “I grew up in London in a household full of women,” he notes. “I needed somewhere to escape! In my house, children were seen and not heard. My mum was a nurse and she wouldn’t let me ride my bike in London ‘cause the streets were too busy. My rebellion took a more cerebral form. I was the sort of kid who could name the worst song from Grease.”
New Order UK is a showcase of up-and-coming UK talent, where Baptiste is performing alongside Lazy Susan (also nominated for the same Fosters’ Edinburgh Comedy Best Newcomer Award as Baptiste), a sketch comedy duo, Joel Dommett, and Phil Wang. “New Order UK is show with a variety of different types of comedy,” he says. “They’re all very good.” Who would Baptiste compare himself to? “I can tell you who I like, who I’d like to emulate,” he answers. “Chris Rock, Louis CK, Dave Schapelle. Russell Brand.”
What does Baptiste think makes him funny? “There’s no original idea under the sun, so it’s how you personalise it,” he says. “Being able to take ownership of your observations. To be funny, you have to own your own jokes, tell them in the context of how you feel. That’s the only way you can be unique. You do it in terms of yourself and your vulnerability. You give the audience a sense of who you are by nailing your observations, by writing your material honestly.” Is there anything he wouldn’t joke about? “I’ve never heard a funny rape joke,” he says. Melbourne is reassured, because this issue does keep coming up at MICF. “You don’t punch down,” continues Baptiste. “Making fun of something and making a joke about it are two different things. You have to have self-awareness first. They say comedy is tragedy plus timing.”
His parents were possibly more conservative than those of his peers when Baptiste was growing up, so what does his family think of his choice of career? “They are skilled worker immigrants; the type of people who want their kids to be professional, to do legal or clerical jobs. Some of the older members of my family are still getting their heads around it. It could be a lot worse. As long as I’m not bringing illegitimate children into the world or leading an illegitimate life, they’re OK.” And he’d like us to know he can ride a bike now. Baptiste is working on a TV pilot but maintains that stand-up is his first love. “I want to develop a distinctive voice in stand-up comedy.” He’s on his way there by all accounts.
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
Venue: Greek Centre – The Parthenon, 168 Lonsdale St, CBD
Date: Currently being performed until April 19 (except Mondays)
Times: 9.30pm (Sundays 8.30pm)
Tickets: $25.50 – $33.50
