UK Comedian Jimmy McGhie is bringing his stand-up show to Sydney and Perth Comedy Festivals.
Named around the philosophical principle of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Jimmy’s show will talk about exactly that.
“Once you reach the top there isn't anywhere else to go. So there is a sense that as humans because we're not running away from sabre tooth tigers, or trying to catch our dinner in the forest, we've ascended to the top of this hierarchy of needs.
“Which is why everyone does triathlons – because they don't really have anything else to do. There is no jeopardy in their lives, or danger. There's no risks,” Jimmy says regarding his show.
If you haven't heard of Jimmy, previously working for BBC as a science researcher in the UK, in his own words, he ran away to join the circus.
“I always stood there with my clipboard thinking 'I want to be on the other side’,
“I had done stand-up whilst at university and it is very addictive to get this sense of having a calling and I didn’t want to wake up at the age of 50 disappointed that I never gave it a go.
“So I ran away to join the circus, and one day you wake up in a hotel in Canberra and sort of think 'Oh, I guess I made it’.
Excited to be in Australia again, Jimmy says he loves to perform in front of Australian audiences, compared to ‘miserable Brits’.
“The audiences are very warm and they come to watch shows with a sense of joy. Other audiences come in a little bit more negative like “Oh come on then, make me laugh funny man.
“You can probably guess what audiences I am talking about… Miserable Brits!”
Being his first time to Perth in what seems like a while now, Jimmy says he will have to re-familiarise himself with the city after his last trip.
“Last time I was in Perth I was accidentally given a suite in a hotel – it was an administrative mistake on part of the hotel. It was so incredibly amazing, that I stayed in it the whole time,” he says.
“I had a dining room separate to my bedroom – it was like a palace. Once I was in, they kind of couldn't get me out so apart from doing the show, I never really left the hotel.”
Talking about the warm and attentive audiences in Australia, Jimmy also mentions hecklers and how they add to the show.
“During my last show in Adelaide, there was a guy that kept yelling 'take your shirt off!', and then the audience jumped on it and they were all calling out 'take your shirt off!'.
“300 people were shouting 'take your shirt off!' and then the two other guys in my show ran out and tried to take my shirt off. It was a funny and spontaneous moment... Although, I didn't take my shirt off because I wasn't in 'Magic Mike the Musical’.
“Generally, Australian audiences are a lot nicer and aren't looking to take you down a peg or two.”
