There are wild and wacky, out there comedians. And then there’s David Correos.
From unicorn tutorials to melding your favourite tunes and cat food, Correos’ genius mind can go to places no human has ever been, which makes his current comedic arc all the more intriguing.
“I was always the weird kid,” Correos shares from his new Sydney residence. “The kid that ate paper and freaked the other kids out. That was my kind of vibe. Then I noticed that being weird got me attention, so I leaned into it. It still reflects in my comedy now, I’m still weird in my stand-up.”
The journey to the stage began early on for Correos, but then an unlikely athletic career beckoned. Finally, his hand was forced, something he doesn’t altogether regret.
“I was originally a theatre kid. I loved all the speeches and stuff. And then I did weightlifting as a joke, 'cause I was the weird kid. I just did bets all the time, and the occasional magic trick, so I was like, ‘what if I actually did weightlifting?’ And then my coach was like, ‘you're actually pretty good at this’.”
“So I became the weird kid who ended up being really good at weightlifting and took it seriously. But the whole time, I wanted to be a performer. So I was kinda happy I broke my ankle and managed to pivot back into comedy.”
Despite Christchurch’s lack of support for ambitious comics, Correos found a place to carve his craft in highly unconventional ways.
“Where I started in Christchurch, there wasn't a stand-up comedy scene, mainly buskers and street performers. So the shows I was doing, the room was swallowing swords or walking on glass or doing fire breathing. I had to compete with that, so for the first year, I actually told no jokes, I just did weird stuff on stage.”
“I wanted to do a unicorn costume tutorial, so I dressed in a silver unitard and taped a carrot to my head and danced to ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen. And I was like, ‘I guess that’s comedy?’. It made me stand out, so when I went to Auckland for stand-up comedy, I had a different flavour.”
While startling images such as these have certainly changed lives forever, it wasn’t all laughs in Correos’ early career, as he took the shock route, sparing no expense, or emotion. These days, he’s enjoying his transition into other forms.
“I’ve ruined lives as well,” he jokes. “When you like it, it's really good, but if you're a mother in your 50s and you’ve just come out 'cause you want a nice time away from the kids, and then you see me taking my shirt off and screaming at everyone. . . People are like, ‘I don't wanna remember that, but it's burned in my brain’.”
“The main thing I lean into is surprise. For me, the big arc has been, when I first started, a lot of it was shock comedy, and I was trying to do the most hectic things that I could on stage. I used to do this bit where I would ask people their favourite song and a memory attached to it. Then I would play the song and eat cat food in front of them and scream, ‘This is your new memory!’ It was real shock comedy.”
“Five years ago, I realised I like being more surprising instead, because I prefer delight. So that's the theme, trying to have something really hectic, but with a surprising, delightful tinge to it now. I find it more interesting.”
Correos’ current offering, 'Noise Zealand', as with most creations of his magnificent mind, is a wild combination of the unusual – this time blending rave music with comedy and, potentially, a whole lot more not bargained for.
“I've always been into dance music. Everyone got into techno three or four years ago, so I did. I'm ready to delve into something different. Everyone’s trying to be perfect in stand-up now, and the top is getting homogenised, because we're all trying to fit the path that’s been created before us. I'm trying to do something more fun and create a new path.”
Presumably, Correos has been practising this secondary craft for years in preparation, but then again, maybe not.
“Yeah, so I can't DJ,” he confesses. “I've only been DJing for about a month. I can't do it. And that's the funny part of the show, you’re watching a regression of someone trying to learn something. So when I actually nail something, that's legitimate excitement that you're watching, I'm not faking it.”
Correos takes on his only serious note to reflect on what can and can’t be joked about.
“You can’t joke about anything that you aren’t ready to deal with the consequences of. I think you're allowed to joke about anything, but you have to be willing to take the consequences. If you're putting it online and everyone’s seeing it, that's the consequences.”
David Correos plays The Greek – Mezzanine (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) 27 March-20 April.
