All the world certainly is a stage for Marney McQueen. The Australian comedian has toured her quirky collection of characters through packed-out theatres at home, in New York, London and Edinburgh.
Marney's characters are so varied, yet she is just as comfortable embodying Damo (the testosterone-fuelled Aussie backpacker) as she is Rosa (the leopard-print sheathed Russian bikini waxer). With such an abundance of natural talent, it's surprising to learn that her entrance to comedy and cabaret came about accidentally.
We tend to think of big decisions as being the ones that have the most impact, but sometimes the course of your life can be altered radically by a small and seemingly insignificant choice – like which beauty salon to go to for your bikini wax. So it was for Marney.
What started as a simple acting class exercise turned into an entire career she never pictured herself having. “We had to go and observe somebody in their workplace without them knowing. It was actually quite tricky. A few people observed the librarians because it was very easy to sit there and watch them. I chose my beautician because she was just such an interesting person. She always wore top-to-toe leopard print, had huge hair, spoke in a thick accent, and wore really high heels, even though she was on her feet all day in the salon.
“I'd actually considered it a very serious exercise. But when I performed it my whole class started laughing, the teacher as well. I really had no idea it was going to be funny.”
Marney's characterisation, which strikes a unique balance between hilarity and realism, captured the attention of Barry Humphries when he attended one of her NIDA performances. Barry accepted Marney's request to sit in on his one-woman Broadway show in New York and struck up a friendship with her during that time. “I thought it was incredible that this man made his whole life's work out of creating characters. He inspired me to turn my little ten-minute monologue into a character I could take all around the world. I called her Rosa Waxofski, the Russian celebrity bikini waxer, and it's just taken off from there.”
Marney is yet to revisit the real-life Rosa, the woman who inadvertently kicked off her career. “She used to talk a lot about her celebrity clients, so I get the feeling she'd be excited that someone created a theatrical character inspired by her. I think she'd be thrilled.”
So what's been holding Marney back? “I do pilgrimages of Russian bikini waxing salons, hunting for new little bits of inspiration to work into the character. One time I admitted to a lady that I play a Russian bikini waxer on stage. She turned to me and, in that very stern Russian way, said 'what do you do this for?' At this point I had one leg in the air and she's waxing a very delicate area, so I was feeling quite vulnerable. I said, 'it's just to make people laugh'. She looked at me and said 'you think it's funny to take the piss out of Russian people?' I was so terrified! From then on I thought, 'I'm never telling any more Russian bikini waxers that I play a Russian bikini waxer!”
This experience left Marney reticent about reuniting with her former beautician and nervous when approached by Russian audience members after shows. So far though, Marney's happy to report she's had nothing but positive feedback from them. And this feedback is vital to Marney as her show draws its life-force from audience interaction. “You never know what you're going to get, how people are going to react. Everyone's on edge, waiting to see what's going to happen next. I love that nervous anticipation. Sometimes you get very clever and witty things from the audience and I just have to hand it to them. It's great when they're keen to be involved.
“During a show in a little country town in Victoria, I asked a lady if she'd ever had a manicure. She said 'oh no, no, no, I just chew them down'. Then I asked if she'd ever had a pedicure and she said yes. I said 'okay, so you don't worry about your hands but you go and get your feet done?' And she said 'well my husband won't chew my toenails for me and I can't do it so I have to go get them done'.”
While she loves it when her audience adds to the fun, Marney admits to a touch of hypocrisy when it comes to being dragged into other people's shows. “I absolutely hate it. So I know what it's like. But you've just got to go along with whatever the performer wants from you. Just do it. Because, if you try to resist or try to be the smart one, it can backfire. Having said that, as a performer, I'm up for any different kind of personality. It's always interesting. And that's what I love about my shows.”
Marney has her eyes and her mind constantly open and ready to soak in new characters. She's currently building a hipster barista from Newtown in Sydney, inspired by the culture of man buns and beards. She's also just starting to hatch the inkling of a character who sees herself as a mystic and a healer. “Sometimes a single person can be the entire catalyst for a new character. But usually what happens is, I become aware of some kind of injustice or contradiction or hypocrisy; some social thing I might be wrestling with.
“The character of Karen Barnes, border security officer, sprung out of my loathing for bureaucrats and people who have to stick to the rules not because they're right but because they're the rules. And then they decide you need to adhere to those rules as well. I decided to bring the traits of that type of personality to light in a border security officer because then I can also draw in a lot of the current political issues we're facing in Australia.”
While her performances are humour-centric, Marney has deeper motivations underlying her character development. “I hope a message comes through and I hope people immediately recognise the character. If someone says to me afterwards 'I know so many people just like that', then I feel like I've done my job and resonated with people.”
Marney's characterisations, with their humour and deeper connections to the current social climate, are a valuable contribution to the ever increasing pool of quality female comedy. And she is thrilled to see fresh energy coming from comedians like Rebel Wilson, Kristen Wiig and Em Rusciano. Female comedians are busting through the old stereotype that women can't be funny and are no longer limiting themselves to jokes about man-hating, family life and PMS. “There's still a stigma about female comedians but I think that's starting to change. There's a new rank of great female comedians coming through and they're talking about more than just not getting a root. It's an exciting time for emerging comedy.”
Marney McQueen Hair To The Throne Tour
Sun 7 & Mon 8 June – Adelaide Cabaret FestivalThurs 11 June – Queensland Cabaret Festival
Fri 12 June – Parramatta Riverside Theatre
Sat 13 & Sun 21 June – Hayes Theatre Potts Point
Sun 14 June – Gladstone Entertainment Centre
Sat 20 June – Burdekin Theatre Ayr
