The man behind the raucous Jam Jar Poetry Slam events who’s hosted the Queensland Poetry Slam the previous two years is back.
Poet-comedian Scott Wings will host his own up late show as part of this year’s Anywhere Theatre Festival (ATF).
Tell us a bit about ‘Up Late With Scott Wings’? Yeah, it's pretty much what happens when Rove has no budget and Jimmy Fallon loses his street cred. It's 100 percent Brisbane and all about supporting the crew from Anywhere Theatre Fest while also generally jabbing the ribs of anyone who cares.
Who do you have coming on the show? A total of ten performers, theatre troupes, comedians and circus performers have all been willing to give their time to be interviewed, made fun of and have pie thrown at them. So a huge mix of ATF will be showcased for the price of one show!
Scott Wings the personality... for those who haven’t witnessed your stage craft before, what can they expect? I'm so into messing with a crowd and seeing what they'll do with that. So yeah, the crowd will make the show more than we will that's for sure. I've always loved when a crowd has a super entertaining time. This is a different step for me as a Late Night host though. I've been performing with pre-written segments for years, while adjusting to whatever the crowd throws at me. This time it'll be the opposite — very little pre-written stuff and going with the crowd in a big way. It's daunting but exciting. Because if it doesn't work, I think that can be just as funny as if it does. So it's all win.
The show will be taking place on Friday evenings at the traditional late night show timeslot of 10pm... will each show revolve around topics of the week, or will there be pre-scripted subjects? We don't have a massive team of writers like Lettermen etc. So we're pretty much gonna fly with whatever comes our way. We'll be checking out ATF shows and mixing with the crews that make them happen. There's a few things we definitely want to play with, which we're planning. For example one of our Up Late crew members is obsessed with Tinder. So we're going to try to do a couple of Tinder experiments. Other than that it's all very fluid.
Live late night shows... do you have a favourite host? I don't know. I like Jimmy Fallon. But don't you find the hosts themselves are quite dry and safe? Rove was all right for a minute and then it was a lesson in how to become the world’s most boring person. I want to sink my teeth in there! And the team at Up Late is all very keen on playing rough. So I'm confident that you'll find it hard to go back to normal late night shows after this.
In Australia Steve Vizard had a great crack in the '80s/ '90s and the likes of Rove and Mick Molloy have done well at certain times; but in general, us Aussies really haven't gravitated towards a local late night show identity - is there a reason for this? There's a definite struggle to accept people trying to do quality work in Australia. You'll get called a snob or too big for your boots. But I think I'm at the point now in my career where people are beginning to accept that I'm just gonna keep on trucking. And Aussies like that. We like calling you a bastard and punching you in the guts. Then if you get up, we'll give you a nod and say "Good on ya". It's strangely beautiful.
Anywhere Theatre Festival... how great is it that such a festival has landed in Brisbane, allowing the grassroots, fringe arts a place to shine? Oh it's the best. Everyone is doing such amazing work in such strange places. I saw a dance performance in a tree a few years ago. I like when Brisbane embraces it's unique points. And ATF gives punters experiences they won't forget and will forever change how they see the city.
You’re known as West End's slam king... I don't recall seeing you at the Paradise St courts recently... HA! Slam is a dynamic poetry competition. I basically yell funny things at people and call it poetry and win prizes.
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The genre has really taken off in recent years. Is there a reason for that? I think the quality of work has risen, inspiring people to see what the potential of it is. We've also had quite a few international poets come through and blow up the local stages. It's moved from being an awkward expression to an awkward expression with teeth. Poets are honing their skills, touring, collaborating with dancers and musicians and playwrights. Slam poets are becoming performers to rival any other performance art form. It's become something tangible for the arts community and people are loving it. I think the best feedback I got from my Adelaide Fringe shows was this guy who said: "Shit, poetry isn't boring! I'm going to go home and write a poem!" And you can tell he was rattled by the experience in a great way. No reading off pages, plenty of natural physicality, a huge dose of tongue-in-cheek. It's become a brilliant platform for expression. It was inevitable that people would come to see it.
