Don't call comedian Rose Callaghan a 'mum’.
During COVID, Rose Callaghan got pregnant and now just so happens to be the proud owner of a baby. For Rose, the experience of trying to be a modern parent in a system which is attached to outdated gender stereotypes was quite the shock.
Rose's show 'Young, Dumb And Full Of Mum' answers a range of important questions. Questions like 'what can male and female couples learn about parenting from lesbians?'; 'is my baby cute, or am I just biologically wired to think so?' and more.
Her show has scored the 10pm slot as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival, so here are five reasons, according to Rose, why seeing a show at 10pm at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the coolest and best idea.
One
Lots of time to digest your dinner. You know when you’re going to see a comedy festival show, you decide you and your mates are going to grab a bite to eat beforehand and catch up, maybe you head out to China Town to have a succulent Chinese meal. So you’re sitting there, having a great time and then you realise 'oh sh.t, the show starts in five minutes!' So you have to pay the bill and pissbolt out of there – 'oh no they only take cash!' One of you has to run down the street to find an ATM, get back to the restaurant and pay. they don’t split the bill either (don't get me started). After sprinting through crowds, you get to the venue – 'oh no, where’s my ticket?? Didn’t you have it? Oh wait, I bought them'. When you finally get into the show you are seven minutes late and the comedian picks on you because you work in finance and have a silly jumper on. AND you have a stitch because you shouldn’t be running through the streets of Melbourne CBD with a stomach full of pork and chive dumplings. An entirely preventable situation.Two
Your colleagues can’t smell alcohol over Zoom. COVID-19 has meant flexible working conditions are now the norm. Studies have shown this increases workers' happiness, gives them better work life balance and makes them more productive, blah blah blah etc. More importantly, if you decide to see a 10pm comedy show and get absolutely sauced with your old mate from uni, your colleagues will be none the wiser. Simply sleep til 8.47am, put a shirt on top of your pyjamas and log on. Red eyes? Talk about how 'crazy' your allergies are at the moment. Or simply turn your camera off because your internet is being 'weird'.Three
It’s actually problematic to call 10pm a 'late show'. Some people have different circadian rhythms and don’t fit into the box of what is considered a 'normal' sleep routine. Us night owls do our best work at midnight. It’s SOCIETY that is the problem. For many people, 10pm is THE perfect, most ideal time to see a show. According to Psychology Today, 'Circadian rhythms of night owls are out of sync with the world as we’ve shaped it. . . There is a socially ascribed miscalculation of how we should function in time as a society on the whole'. Makes you think? So when Circadian-typicals say 'oh 10pm, that’s late' its actually quite problematic and night-owl-ist for them to say that. We need to reframe the conversation to be more inclusive for people who get up late and stay up late.Four
Your friends will think you’re cool. So your friends thought you lost your edge since you started training for marathons, reading the Barefoot Investor and your Spotify Wrapped was just politics podcasts and an LCD Soundsystem album that came out 12 years ago. And let's not get started about your mind-numbing obsession with Ottolenghi cookbooks. What better way to show them who can keep up with the kids than going to a stand-up comedy show at 10pm. You can casually post on your instagram stories 'just catching a comedy show, pumped to see Rose Callaghan!' with a picture of a pint of beer and that little clock thing that says '9:58pm' (cool people get into their seats early to ensure the show can start promptly and with no interruptions). Naturally you will ensure you tag @operation_rosie in the story (that’s my Instagram), so that I will see, share it to my stories and you will instantly get thousands of new Instagram followers. 'Wow,' your friends exclaim, 'our friend is so popular and cool'. Your friends are so impressed, they start to get worried and feel like they are being shown up to be old. Not to be humiliated by your passion for Melbourne arts and culture, they jump into the group chat – 'oh yeah I’m going to see Rose tonight. bought my tickets ages ago because i’m ahead of the trends. I’m going tomorrow night with my young friends that I definitely have. Hearing reports that there is a tight-arse Tuesday deal and for groups (6 people+)'.Five
What are you, a big wuss or something? Harden up mate. Yes, shaming people by accusing them of being 'weak' may be controversial these days (you can't say anything anymore!) but think of this experience as an opportunity for personal growth. Also if you have kids you can put them to bed and it leaves you heaps of time to get into the city to see the show (please don’t leave them by themselves though, I think that's illegal). There’s video and song and fun stuff in there that will keep you entertained and alert throughout the show.Rose Callaghan plays The Butterfly Club (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) from 4-13 April (at 10pm!). She also plays Enmore Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival) 5-6 May, at the slightly-less-cool time of 9:30pm.
