8 January 2005
Post Impressions
One is a veteran of the stage, the other of the small screen; one is classically trained in mime, the other in law; one loves to sing and dance, the other can’t.
But two of Australia’s most popular comedians, long time friends Glynn Nicholas and Shaun Micallef, are ready to hit the stage together for the first time.
In February, they bring to the Regal a new show called The Pleasure of Their Company, a show that, when I had the pleasure of their company recently, was still very much in development.
Two years ago, Glynn announced he was retiring from the stage to pursue his career as a producer of Australian theatre.
“At the time, it was true, “ he said sheepishly.
The retired actor, comedian and mime artist was directing a mime show called Shoosh! when one of the cast members had an accident and had to pull out.
“I knew all the words,” Glynn joked, and you could scarcely see him for the dust as he leapt back on to the stage.
“I missed it,” he said simply. “I realized I was still really quite good at it and, let’s face it, it’s still the best part of the day.”
Shaun, on the other hand, hasn’t been on stage for more than 10 years and said he thought it was time he got back in front of a live audience.
Polite, intelligent, and quietly witty, he began his career in comedy reviews at university.
“Television actors sell themselves short if they haven’t experienced a live audience,” Shaun said.
He said studio audiences were primed to be as supportive as they could for the sake of the television cameras. A theatre audience was not.
Glynn agreed: “It’s not enough to just say ‘I want to be on television’,” he said, referring to the latest spate of reality TV. “You have to want to say something.
“Comedy is about observation and the connection with your audience.”
The creator of issue-laden comedies like Certified Male and Leaves Falling at Midnight, Glynn said:” There’s no more important job than being on stage; it’s about responsibility and communication.”
“Oh dear,” said the perennially worried-looking Shaun. “I don’t know if I’ve got anything to say. For me it’s all about the audience.”
Shaun said he had thought about getting back on stage for some time but had worried about the writing of sketches and creating storylines for his characters.
“But Glynn convinced me to stop worrying and lower my standards,” he joked.
The man whose dry, instinctive and sometimes off-the-wall humour has dominated television comedy in Australia for the past 10 years, with numerous comedy sketches, his own shows, The Micallef P(r)ogram(me), Welcher and Welcher, and the all-too brief, Micallef Tonight, is surprisingly self-deprecating.
He said: “Glynn is so graceful. I have no grace. I can’t sing and I can’t play an instrument.” He pauses for a moment: “I can do visual humour…I’ll let Glynn be magical and I’ll just be funny….well, funny-ish.”
As we chat over coffee, ideas continue to bubble for their show. “What if we…Suppose you…then I could…”
Without giving any definite answer as to what the show will be about, they both agree it would redefine the words “sexy, gorgeous, and full of goodness”.
Shaun Micallef and Glynn Nicholas in The Pleasure of Their Company are guaranteed to be a pleasure, with “never-seen-before comedy skits, witty observations, impressions, show-biz gossip and soaring vocal harmonies….but these are all under consideration, pending legal advice.”
You can join them at the Regal Theatre for four shows from Thursday, February 24. Bookings are through BOCS.