Melbourne's Frank Woodley was built with funny in his bones.
He can barely answer a straight question without cracking a joke. Best known for his work with Colin Lane, Woodley is descending on the Brisbane Comedy Festival to share his latest solo offering, 'Fool's Gold' (which is not a one-man adaptation of the Kate Hudson/ Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy).
“It was originally going to be based on that but I couldn't spell the word 'McConaughey',” he laughs. “I tried like eight times and got it wrong every time so I've decided instead to make it a collection of classic stand-up bits and pieces.”
With over 40 comedians from Australia and around the world, Brisbane Comedy Festival is a comedy smorgasbord. “I do love all of those comedians, but some of their shows will be on at the same time as my show and that can be a little awkward. I remember once I really wanted to see Fiona O'Loughlin so I took my entire audience into her show and I pretended it was part of my show. There were some complaints but it's a new way of doing comedy. It's avant garde. I didn't do a performance, I just took you into someone else’s.”
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Woodley's slapstick approach takes its toll, leaving bumps and bruises when a comic bit requires him to fall face first off the side of the stage. “It's a little bit like playing a contact sport,” he says. “I've been pretty lucky. When we were doing Lano And Woodley, I injured my knee. I ended up having an operation but at the time I couldn't straighten it.
“The cartilage had gotten all tangled up in the joints so my knee was at a permanent bend. It turned out to be grist for the mill because we got a lot of laughs out of it and Colin exploited that for everything he could. I feel like I could fall off a two storey building and land on my back, and it would be alright as long as the laugh was big enough.”
Frank Woodley Tour Dates
Feb 18-23 — Adelaide Fringe @ The Arts TheatreFeb 25-Mar 02 — Brisbane Comedy Festival @ Brisbane Powerhouse
Mar 11 — Ten Days @ The Spiegeltent (Hobart)
Mar 27-Apr 20 — Melbourne Comedy Festival @ Melbourne Town Hall
Apr 29-May 04 — Sydney Comedy Festival @ Factory Theatre
May 10 — Perth Comedy Festival @ Astor Theatre
