Comedians keep funny hours

STAND-UP comedy can require its practitioners to be funny in some unusual situations.
Take Monty Franklin for example.
Stand-up is normally found in the realm of dimly lit clubs in front of well-dressed patrons clasping glasses of chardonnay or pints of boutique beer.
But when the Melbourne-based comedian toured outback mining towns and camps in Western Australia earlier this year, he often found himself on stage at odd hours of the day and night.
“I would have to perform for both the day and night shift workers at the mining towns and camps,” Monty says.
“There was one morning when I had to be funny at 7am.
“The show was for the miners who had just finished working a 12-hour night-shift.
“I had just woken up and was trying to make a bunch of guys who had worked through the night laugh – it was kind of surreal.”
Monty’s ability to deal with the bizarre might stem from growing up on the Gold Coast.
It was there his comedy career took off after he entered a local competition.
He soon made the trek to Melbourne, the Promised Land for comedians looking for a break.
“I have made a lot of friends in Melbourne and I derive a lot of my material from the situations in their lives,” he says.
“Other comedians I know sit down and write jokes but I can’t seem to do that.
“It’s from everyday experiences, the mundane events in life that humour can be found.”
Monty will appear at the Ballina RSL Club tonight alongside Ellen Briggs, the Mullumbimby Mum who has left serving at the school canteen for a career in comedy.
Local comedy legend, Mandy Nolan is the MC for the night.
The Big Gig would have to be some of the best-value comedy in the Northern Rivers.
Tickets are available at the door – don’t miss out.