BUNBURY’s in for a rib-tickling good time as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow is arriving in town for two nights of hilarious fun.
Big names like Tommy Little, Nath Valvo, Dilruk Jayasinha, and Xavier Michelides will be taking to the stage on May 27 and 28.
Ahead of the show Dilruk was keen to chat with the Mail about what it takes to be a Sri Lankan/Australian comedian, the worst he ever bombed, breaking into the comedy scene and getting fired from a big accounting firm.
Dilruk said one of the greatest aspects to the roadshow was getting around to Australia’s regional towns and he’s super excited to get to Bunbury.
“I’ve been to Bunbury before, I loved it then, it was great, I did a gig in Margaret river too,” he said.
“The great thing about Bunbury is everyone gets super excited for a show, I’ve found it’s like this for a lot of regional cities and I think in the bigger cities people can be a bit spoiled for choice so they’re not always invested.”
Differences in regional and metropolitan cities aren’t the only differences Dilruk’s keen eye notices and uses the cultural differences between Sri Lanka and Australia to fuel his comedy fire.
“When I was 11 I watched Eddie Murphy and thought that’s something I could do but there is no comedy scene in Sri Lanka so I shelved that idea.”
But once he was dismissed from the accounting firm he was working for his brother suggested he revisit his stand-up dream but that didn’t come without its share of challenges.
“My stuff comes from adjusting to life in Australia, which at first I was worried to talk about at first but it turned out everyone was digging it.”
“I was playing my first paid gig and it started very well and I got a little cocky and thought I would try something new.”
“I remember the date, September 21, 2013, it’s scarred my mind as the worst I’ve ever bombed,” he said.
Dilruk had 400 people staring silently, but after skipping a couple days of work and binge-watching Disney movies he was back on stage again.
“You just have to get straight back out there,” he said.
Dilruk constantly nails his Melbourne shows in the best rooms in the city and will be at BREC on May 27 and 28 to regal Bunbury’s audience with his hilarious tales and funny observations.
Past Roadshows have introduced audiences to massive comedians like Dave hughes and Joel Creasey.
Tickets are still available through bunburyentertainment.com
