The way Rudy-Lee Taurua describes himself is so ambiguous – and yet, it’s not.
Proudly queer, a First Nations man, and heavily tattooed, Rudy is a smorgasbord of character, he’s everything and yet he’s not – and that’s part of the draw. Once people get talking to the comedian, they discover a person who’s intriguing because he’s so complex. “That’s what my psychiatrist likes to say as well,” Rudy jokes.
With self-ascribed labels, ones that in society today might be cause for a sensitive approach, it’s a wonder how Rudy gets that across in his comedy. “It just comes naturally,” he says. “From the outside looking in, I’m so many different things, but to me, I’m just me. I’m just Rudy-Lee.
“On paper it looks good to tick all these diversity boxes, but really, I’m just being myself, so my comedy goes that way. I don’t sit down with a pen and paper and go ‘Okay, how am I going to take a queer angle today?’ or ‘How am I going to take a mixed-race angle, or a mental health angle?’ All those things coexist within my head, and whatever comes up, comes up.”
Rudy would say, though, he’s complex to understand but ultimately, he’s “pretty basic”. “I’m much happier to stay at home and plod along,” he says. “I’m not one of these people to go out there and force my thinkings onto other people, I guess.”
In terms of his identity, Rudy does have a lot under his belt, yet in his forthcoming show, 'Send Rudes', he wants to put stereotypes to one side and go for gold. Rudy explains how he makes those often-sensitive sociopolitical areas interesting, educational, and most importantly, entertaining. “I think it’s all in the delivery.
“From first glance I can pass as straight and white, [but] when I broach subjects such as racism in this country (which is rife), such as homophobia, I think a straight audience are open to listen to what I’ve got to say because they can identify with me more easily.
“I don’t have that stereotypical – and I hate this term – the 'gay voice'. I’m not so camp in my actions, [and] I’m not a dark person of colour. I think when people are so visually and audibly different, when a straight white audience is sitting there and being told ‘Hey! You guys need to pick up your game’, they get defensive because they can’t find something to connect with.”
Defences, Rudy says in his experience, can go up straight away, so he’s made it his mission to make sure everyone is comfortable while broadening people’s cognitive plates. “As different as I am, I feel like a broad audience can connect, like just some bloke having a chat,” he says. “The queer stuff, those things are harder to change opinions on.”
You might call Rudy the cure for being delicate. There’s much in the areas he deals with in his act that many might not understand, so it’s best to approach his show with an open mind, ready to learn – because he has changed perceptions in the past. “Not just in my comedy but in my personal life,” says Rudy. “Here’s the problem with mainstream entertainment and the hetero-normative community as a whole – they see gay or queer as all-inclusive.
“They don’t show a vast array of different types of gay people in our community. There’s people that society would consider blokey blokes that are also queer, but they don’t get representation. I’ve had people thank me for showing you don’t have to be this extremely camp person to be queer.”
Rudy-Lee Taurua plays Factory Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival) 28 April-1 May.
