It’s taken him a little longer than some, but comedian Luke McGregor has finally got his life more or less together.
And he wants to tell you all about it in his new show, ‘Almost Fixed It’. “The idea is, because I've done a documentary about sex and got a girlfriend in the same year, I kind of feel like I solved everything for a while there,” Luke laughs.
“I realised very soon that there were a whole bunch of new problems that arise with that, but for a brief moment I felt like I'd kind of fixed it so the show's about that. Whenever I do a comedy show, I talk about what I find funny so if I could, I'd probably just call the show 'Comedy', but this seemed like a better title.”
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A lot’s changed for Luke since his last stand-up show ‘I Worry That I Worry Too Much’ in 2014, becoming an Aussie comedy favourite by way of TV performances as Hugh in ABC’s ‘Utopia’, and giving a brash and unfiltered insight into his own sex life with documentary ‘Luke Warm Sex’.
While the show made it hard for a lot of people to look Luke in the eye ever again, it also opened him up to the possibility of long-term relationships.
Just like in 'Luke Warm Sex', Luke is brutally honest and upfront about his difficulties engaging with other people. “My girlfriend hadn't seen 'Luke Warm Sex' because we started dating while we were editing it, but she has been my only regular sexual partner ever,” he explains.
“So I don't know if I hadn't done the doco we'd still be together now to be honest, because it was such a big issue for me and such a sticking point in previous attempts at relationships. I don't think I'd still be with her now if I hadn't gone on and really gotten over those issues, I suppose.”
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Luke is well-known for his nervous disposition and self-deprecating humour, which usually sees him and his neuroses being the butt of his own jokes. Speaking to him one-on-one, Luke comes across as confident and affable, a paradox of his stage persona. “When people talk to me in real life they say I'm more relaxed than I am on stage,” he says, “and I think at this stage I don't try and cover up my anxiety as much, I just let it flow out.
“So it's me, but a slightly heightened version as well. Talking to someone one-on-one, there's not the pressure of a large crowd there. But it's weird when I'm talking to a group of people at a party, I get more nervous than when I'm performing on stage.
"I don't know why I'm able to do the talking on stage, but I get nervous at a party trying to talk to a few people and hold a conversation. It's weird and I haven't quite worked it out yet.”
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As well as 'Almost Fixed It', Luke also has plans for more television appearances in 2017. Hesitant to reveal any details about another season of 'Utopia', Luke says he'd really like to work on another documentary in the style of 'Luke Warm Sex'. “'Utopia' I'm not sure” he says, “I'm scared to say anything in case I never get to talk to Rob Stitch in real life again.
“But as far as 'Luke Warm Sex', I'd like to do something else like that. I don't know what topic or if there's anything in '...Sex' we didn't explore that we could explore in the next show.
“Porno was a funny one in regards to the debate over the impact it has on people, whether porn can be addictive or not, and then there's the people who film the porn and the ethics around that. It's such a big topic that we just didn't have time to explore it really other than that one scene.
“I'm still interested in doing a documentary like 'Luke Warm Sex' again, but I've got no idea what. So if you have anything, send me an email.”
Luke McGregor Shows
27 Feb-5 Mar - Adelaide Fringe9-11 Mar - Brisbane Comedy Festival
18 Mar - Spiegeltent Hobart
24 Mar - Canberra Comedy Festival
29 Mar-9 Apr - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
26 Apr - Spiegeltent Wollongong
6 May - Sydney Comedy Festival
