Craig Quartermaine offers us a sweet yet confronting distraction from this troubled world when he presents his new show ‘Novelty Act’ to Australian audiences.
“Craig’s the best comedian I’ve ever see on ABCTV.” Comedic powerhouse Jim Jefferies once said after witnessing Craig’s exceptional routine. The savage, slick, and hilarious Australian comedian and journalist Craig Quartermaine will play as part of the Perth and Sydney Comedy Festivals.
Mocking identity and labels is easy when a family secret can change everything you think you are, and when being yourself is the worst career move you could ever make. Known for his appearances on 'Tonightly With Tom Ballard', NITV and triple j’s 'One Night Stand-Up', Craig is back with another lovingly barbed show packed with personal stories and acerbic insights.
With a truckload of life experience and a self-labelled inappropriate man-crush on Idris Elba, Craig switched to comedy after being frustrated with a career in journalism, and the savage and slick comic slowly rose from there. After making the national finals of triple j’s RAW Comedy. He then headed off to play London’s West End before making his triumphant Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut with the tremendously received show, 'Race Off' – which set the relative newcomer on his way to his first European tour, all before he’d even done a solo show at Australian comedy festivals.
“You can’t describe it until you do it, standing in front of 12,000 people in the Opera House. This is the second solo hour after my 5th year of comedy. I’m starting to establish a really cool following, not huge, but I’m building on it, and people are coming to see me do my thing.
Craig is in Winton, Queensland during this interview, in the midst of being hammered by a cyclone and flood.
“…So we're just waiting out the storm at the minute. Takes me back to my days on site.”
Craig was disappointed to see the Eagles bow a loss to the Lions recently, but was pleased to see his club double-down on the condemnation of racist social media comments directed at forwarding Liam Ryan.
“I think it’s amazing, I was walking through Mount Isa, and I saw a little Aboriginal kid wearing a Sydney Swans Adam Goodes jersey with all of his cousins. I had a bit of a moment. It’s great to see an entire football team make a stand and say this is bullsh.t.”
Having previously opened for Nazeem Hussain and Jim Jefferies, Craig loves the big stage but also enjoys the comfort of the smaller venues.
“I can still do spots in clubs and open for people and be a nice surprise. There are some amazing acts that people will pay a hundred to see them, it would be awesome to get to that point, but there’s still a long way ahead. However, 100 seaters at this point is a great achievement. Trying things people probably say I shouldn’t be doing, but the people are still getting it.”
