Western Australia’s representative in the Green Faces comedy competition final at the Irish Club on September 4 will be 23-year-old actor and comedian John Robertson, announced the state winner out of over 40 entrants in five WA heats of the competition.
With his deep booming voice and mutton chops ("I grew them so I could look more like Mr Darcy… if his mum had been *****d by Wolverine"), Robertson has been entertaining audiences for the past year with his dark take on pop culture, presented with the ocassional help of his ‘pet’ ukelele.
Incidentally, Robertson tells The Word that "’ukelele’ is a Polynesian word meaning ‘underachiever’". The opposite is true of Robertson himself.
Fast establishing a reputation performing stand-up and character comedy at clubs, pubs, theatres and private functions in and around Perth, online comedy review site The Groggy Squirrel described Robertson in his 2007 Melbourne Fringe show as "commanding to watch", and he hopes to have the same impression on Canberra audiences.
"I’m looking forward to the trip to Canberra," he said, "a city I’ve been laughing at for years! …no really, some of the best science fiction conventions I’ve been to were in Canberra. They were good times. Funny times."
A national phenomenon to rival the Raw Comedy competition, in which Robertson was a 2007 finalist, Green Faces will see Canberra’s own Jay Sullivan compete alongside Robertson and other national finalists for over $3500 in prizes, in addition to gigs at comedy venues in Sydney and Brisbane.
Armed with the knowledge that previous competition entrants have included Tom Gleeson, Ahn Do, Charlie Pickering and Chris Franklin, competitors will not only be representing their states of origin, but trying to kick-start their own careers.
Robertson warns the rest of Australia not to underestimate how funny Perthlings can be. "We’ve got a fantastic comedy scene (in Perth)," he said. "Not everybody knows that."
Having already written and performed his own one-man show in Perth and Melbourne, Robertson comes to Canberra in the midst of preparation for the new show he plans to take to next year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe.
"Who knows," Robertson said, "The Capital may inspire me with some comedy nuggets of her own."
Catch John Robertson’s Canberra debut at the Green Faces National Final on Thursday 4 September at the Irish Club in Weston.
