Yawp Mag Issue 31 The Raconteurs | Page 9

of came in blind, like anyone would”. He adds that he likes, “the same comedians that everyone likes: old Eddie Murphy, Billy Connelly, and all those guys. “Now, especially where I am, in the United States and in Canada, storytelling is a thing. There’s billions of people like me out there, who do one person narrative, story-telling shows, which there doesn’t seem to be as many of in Australia”. He believes that the trend will continue to grow here as it is internationally, “there’s many guys who do it in their comedy in Australia now, but it just hasn’t had that title to it”. In terms of the evolution of storytelling as a genre of comedy, Bennett comments that there a number of nights popping up these days and that stand-up and storytelling are “very, very close”. “There’s still a divide there”, he suggests, “it fits in the same way that improv does. All under that comedy umbrella is improv, pure, one-liner joke writing, and story-telling fits in there as well”. Bennett has toured five shows previously and is currently working on his sixth, which he admits that it is “f***ing terrifying”. His new show launches in Montreal on the 29th of November and was not ready as of the interview on the 15th. “But with doing shows like these, for a full hour, I always think you’ve gotta do one about thirty-five times before you’re comfortable with it. This is the first time, so it’s going to be a bit of a disaster”, he jokes. The show will be coming to Australia, in Perth and Adelaide. Bennett will be bringing a show to Australia all about Jason Donovan, based on a board game about the actor; “I’m doing a show which is that. In Perth and maybe Melbourne this year. It’s just me, playing the Jason Donovan board game with the audience. The Jason Donovan board game is known as one of the worst board games eve