Poking fun at Australian culture and sending up its laidback and larrikin ways is the full-time occupation for Sydney-based comedian Sandy Gutman and has been for the past 42 years.
Also known as Austen Tayshus, Gutman is bringing his acerbic wit and intense comedic approach to the Newport Comedy Room at the Newport Bowls Club on Friday, February 17 from 8pm.
Speaking with Star Weekly, he said there are a lot of differences in Australia’s comedy landscape since he first started.
“Cynicism has gone completely,” he said.
“The fashion in changing.”
Gutman said while he and his approach through Austen Tayshus is often aggressive, he does not consider himself as a politically incorrect comic.
“It’s a more aggressive extension of me,” he said.
Renowned for his number one 1983 comedy hit ‘Australiana’, which spent eight weeks at the top of the Australian charts, Gutman said his goal with his work is to challenge people and make them think about what it means to be Australian in a global context.
“I think it’s a fairly indifferent culture,” he said.
“It needs to be attacked and provoked.
“My job is to wake them up, not woke them up.”
Gutman said his shows are largely improvisational, mixing in often fierce crowd work with his quick wit.
“I like to shake them up,” he said.
“People start throwing food at me.
“It’s a pretty dynamic sort of situation.”
Gutman said while his overall approach to comedy has not changed, he aims to keep his subject matter contemporary.
“I’m very in touch with what is going on with the world,” he said.
“I’m in the moment.”
Gutman’s biographical documentary ‘Austen Tayshus: Skin in the Game’ is also available on Foxtel and Binge.
Details: stellavision.com.au
Matthew Sims
