Sarah is a talented Q Usher from Cork and talks to us about her 2012 International Comedy Festival experiences and recommendations.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do as a Q usher
I'm from Cork in the south of Ireland. I studied Fine Art at Crawford College of Art & Design and I have always had a huge interest in the Arts. I discovered Q mid-August last year after a random chat with a lady walking up Queen Street. Q was just what I was looking for; somewhere to meet great people and still work within the arts.
Being an Usher at Q is great, I just love it. We all work as a team; it’s almost like a little family.
We make sure all shows run smoothly and look after our patrons, ensuring they have the full Q experience; which (to me) is a mix of art, culture and fine dining. That's the most important part of the job for me - I want every patron to feel welcome and as if they are about to be treated to the best piece of entertainment they've ever seen.
How does our Kiwi comedy talent compare to the international talent during the International Comedy Festival?
I can honestly say that it stacks up really well, both in intelligent wit and creativeness. Unfortunately some of the humour is too culturally-referenced for me (being from the United Kingdom) to get. Who the heck is Brian Tamaki and why does Brendhan Lovegrove keep harping on about him? More often than not, my good Kiwi friends fill me in on the details so that the next time it comes up, I can have a laugh at it too.
You have viewed most of the acts during the International Comedy Festival - many of them more than once. Which performance was your favourite and why?
I actually can't pick a favourite, but was great seeing and meeting Dead Cat Bounce, Jason Byrne and David O' Doherty away from home. Jason Byrne was the first comedian that I ever saw, so watching him here was very special for me.
I loved Marcel Lucont too; I watched him every night and never failed to laugh. I have even found myself trying to mimic his amazing French accent during the day! He was just fantastic. Urzila Carlson also cracked me up; she had me bent over in tears laughing. She is a Legend.
Which performances do you recommend Q audiences get to see before the festival finishes next week and why?
The Boy with Tape on his face, and comedy duo Ben Hurley and Steve Wrigley. They’re all perfoming in Rangatira 14-19 May.
I have also heard great things about Jarred Fell, who is playing in loft (that's where I'll be, so pop in and say ‘hi’). I'm really looking forward to that.
I think Q is definitely the place to be for the final week of comedy fest, a mix of eight hilarious comedians per night - there is such an energetic vibe around the whole building at the moment!
Also, the children’s performance: Mr Boon’s Fairy Tales is on at 11am and is also one of my favourites.
You've ushered in several Q audiences during the festival, have they all been well-behaved?
Our patrons have behaved themselves, to be honest. As the night goes on, you can see people getting a bit tipsy and loud, which is just hilarious as the comics just make fun of them - especially the loud ones! All in good fun and humour though.
One gentleman decided to put on his ‘acting pants’ and pretended to be a bouncer. He was so funny, until he almost got bounced himself.
There have been a few other funny moments when people come in late and have to walk across the front of the stage to get to their seats. Two examples stand out the most:
The first was during Marcel Lucont's Friday night sold out show when a couple came in ten minutes late. Marcel spotted them as I was seating them and proceeded to make the entire audience make load ‘tut-tutting’ sounds until they took their seats. Then, the audience started to tut-tut me, until Marcel interjected and said "No no, don’t tut-tut her. She is just doing her job – she’s great and has not done anything wrong."
The second was during full house of Brendhan Lovegrove’s show. I had eight late comers in a row and Brendhan shamed every single one of them! It was comical and of course he just stood on stage, silently waiting and staring at me untill I got back to the door. Then he said loudly “I love you - I just want to take you home and raise you until your all ‘growed-up’."
Up in Loft, everyone is eager to know what’s on next and always loves to chat about the red bricks in this performance space. I have had a lot of patrons who come with tickets for an early evening performance and, after a little chat and a bit of banter, they usually head down to box office and get tickets for the performance the follows directly after.
How would you sum-up the International Comdedy Festival?
I feel Anil Desai put it best in his show: "The whole experience is magical!
From entering Q, to getting your tickets from the box office, to the excitement that you feel as you hear your show being opened over the intercom, you don't know what you are going expect!
Will I be offended? Will I be entertained? Will I be inspired from what I hear? Will I have to go on stage and be embarrassed?
Whatever happens, it is a magical thing that takes place right in front of you. It’s live, it’s raw and it’s great for the stomach muscles – which you are sure to be working (through laughter) to their fullest!
Visit Q online to book your tickets to the final performances of the 2012 International Comedy Festival.
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