Deadly Funny
8 April 2017 @
Melblourne VIC
about his up-bringing and how hismother would flog the “black of him” and how you can’t do a poo in a public toilet. He was very strong in acting out his stories, and bringing his jokes to life.
Michael Vincent (NSW) took the stage followed by Kiara Milera (SA), Martin Adams (NT), Corey Bobongie (QLD), Darren Clinch (VIC), Tony Petrilo (SA), Kimberley Lovergrove (VIC), Dion Williams (VIC), Greg Andrews (NSW), Ghenoa Gela (NSW), Jarrod McDonald (VIC), and Marlene Screii (VIC).
All the comics routines where from an Aboriginal perspective and a common theme was hilarious and to some, embarrassing stories of their families.
To wrap up the night, last years winner, Jalen Sutcliffe took the stage to reveal another talent as a singer. His performance blew the audience away with his vocal range and soulful performance. Jalen is now a student at the Conservation of Music in Hobart and hoping to pursue a career in the music industry.
It was definitely a strong night of talent. It would’ve been extremely difficult for the judges to pick the winner. While the judges went to deliberate the co-hosts returned to the stage to basically roast each other with a hilarious and outrageous 15 minutes of outdoing each other’s yarns.
The envelope made its way to the stage for the special announcement. Kevin Kropinyeri called all the comics back to the stage to annonce the winners. In third place was Martin Adams (NT), Second place was Dion Williams, and first place was…..GHENOA GELA (NSW).
Ghenoa won the title by telling a story about a hilarious thing she saw in Mackay. “When I was a young fella we went to this theatre to watch Welcome to Country and there was a bunch of young dancers. All of the girls were claiming their boyfriends as we do! One young fella forgot to put his underwear on under his lap lap so when he was doing the shake a leg his bits were falling out. I re-enacted the shake a leg dance to the best of my ability”, she said.
Deadly Funny's Producer Wes Sneiling says "“This year we witnessed an overwhelmingly diverse showcase of comedic talent that we can truly be proud of. All on stage proved that being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is richly complicated and that while connected by land and community, everyone is different - and it is ok to laugh at this! Our deadly comedians shared, declared and charmed the audience via the vessel of comedy. Deadly Funny is a huge opportunity that gives voice and provides access and connection to what it means to be an Australian right now.”