Presented by The Comedy Club Bangkok, Darren Sanders is coming to Thailand to perform in Bangkok, Phuket and Hua Hin on June 10th, 11th and 12th! We’ve had some great comedians in Thailand from Ari Shaffir to Gina Yashere, and of course Pinoy Ron Josol with a wealth of credits and experience. But Darren isn’t just a seasoned pro, he’s a vintage! A veteran of 25 years, he is known for his relaxed, confident, conversational style that have audiences at complete ease and in hysterics. He has performed on shows including, ‘The Punchliner Comedy Club Presented by George Lopez’, ‘Stand Up Australia’, ‘Rove’, ‘In Melbourne Tonight’ and has headlined all over the world.
But how does one become a professional comedian and what is it like to be one? Stand-up comedy creative director Chris Wegoda sat down with Darren to find out. Firstly asking how he sees his own comedy.
“When I began comedy 25 years ago, one of the biggest influences was Billy Connolly and growing up I always admired comedians such as Dave Allen, Rodney Dangerfield and Eddie Murphy. Someone else I’ve always admired is Bruce Springsteen and his performance effort is outstanding. He always says he’ll do something different for each show to make it unique for that audience, so hopefully I can channel that same energy when I’m 66.”
And how did Darren get into the world of stand-up comedy?
“I got into comedy maybe by accident but I’d traveled the world for 3 years ending up in the USA, studied acting and did some extra parts in films. If you look closely in the background of a lot of the movies of the early nineties you can catch a glimpse of me all but briefly. Movies like “Lethal Weapon 3” where I walk across the screen polishing a spanner or dancing next to Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston in “The Bodyguard”! When I came back to Australia there weren’t many opportunities available acting wise and since I’d written a lot of travel tales I decided to get up at an open mic night and haven’t stopped since.”
Interesting stuff, and certainly not the first comedian to come from an acting background. So with all this experiences from headlining all over Australia and internationally, what does a comedian learn about audiences?
“The more places you perform the more you realise you need a lot of generic type of material so it can cross nationalities and cultures. A lot comes down to people’s sense of humour rather than where they are from.”
Lastly we asked Darren if he had any words or warnings for Bangkok!
“I think you’re the one who needs to give me any warnings about Bangkok…”
For more details on Darren Sanders’ show on the 10th June at The Comedy Club Bangkok or his dates in Phuket in Hua Hin and to keep informed of all upcoming shows, please go to www.ComedyClubBangkok.com and www.facebook.com/ComedyClubBangkok
Tickets for PinoyThaiyo readers are at a special discounted price of buy 3 get 1 free (full price ฿750) with a drink! Just go to this link.