Mark Simmons has long had a fear of visiting Australia.
“When you’re in England, it’s always sold as a terrifying place where everything wants to eat you and spiders are everywhere you look,” he says.
“And you Aussies make it worse as well! I fell for the drop bear thing for a good two weeks when I was in Adelaide for the first time – I wouldn’t walk under trees late at night,” he laughs.
After two previous treacherous trips Down Under, the British comedian is daring enough to return, including a run of shows at the Brisbane Comedy Festival. Not only will he perform his own solo show, ‘Jest To Impress’, but he will also be part of the line-up for ‘Best Of The Edinburgh Fest’.
Mark’s particular comedy talents are the one-liner, a talent that led to him winning the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Joke Of The Fringe Award. It’s a talent he’s honed over a career close to 20 years, although he dabbled in others at the beginning.
“When I started comedy, I tried every style you could think of because I was trying to find what my voice was. Observation, storytelling, surreal. . . Musical is the only one I didn’t try because I have no musical talent in the slightest – I can’t sing, I can’t play an instrument.
“I initially started with one-liners and then tried everything else, but I kept going back to one-liners because that’s just how I write material. I tend to spot wordplay quite easily. If I’m having a conversation with someone or listening to the radio and someone says a phrase in a certain way, my brain jumps to the double meaning before anything else.”
Mark’s first visit to the Brisbane Comedy Festival was as part of the 'Best Of The Edinburgh Fest' showcase, and he returns on that line-up with two new additions, Harry Stachini and Andy Askins.
“Andy does musical comedy, but with a twist,” he says. “The way he does it is very short, sharp, very clever. He’s one of those acts you’ve just got to experience. And Harry’s got a very likeable storytelling style.”
Along with sharing the stage with other comics, Mark will also perform his latest solo show, ‘Jest To Impress’. It’s an hour of short, sharp zingers and puns he has crafted, and displays the impressive depths of his material when he interacts with the audience.
“They’re my favourite bits of the show because they keep me on my toes and give me a bit of an adrenaline boost when I’m on,” he says. “I also really like it when I get a tough one because it’s like a challenge as to how do I get laughs out of failure, which I find really fascinating.
“Sometimes the audience really enjoy when you fail in that environment, and there’s ways to make them laugh within your failure or you trying to clamber to think of something. Like, I had a joke that I couldn’t remember but I knew I had one about the topic. I got more laughs out of me trying to remember it than I would’ve doing one joke. It becomes clowning, doing that bit.”
Since overcoming his fear of Australia, Mark finds his tours here to be the most relaxing part of his year, and a place where more quips grow from his brain.
“When I first came to Australia, I was like, ‘I was worried about nothing’,” he says. “There’s something about Australia that as soon as I get off the plane, I just feel so chill. It’s why last year in Australia I wrote way more than I’ve ever written, because I had no other distractions. I could just sit in a café and just write. It’s a really nice place to come for three months of the year when the weather is terrible in England.”
‘Best Of The Edinburgh Fest’ plays Brisbane Powerhouse 24-27 April. ‘Jest To Impress’ plays Brisbane Powerhouse 27 April.
