Christophe Davidson brings his hilariously quirky show The Time Of Your Life to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This will be the young Canadian’s second trip to the prestigious event, but this time around he’s more focused about what he wants to achieve. ‘Last year I wasn’t in the festival, and just hung about with my Canadian comedy pal DeAnne Smith. This year I’m in the festival, and plan on getting DeAnne pregnant. She’s gay. So basically I’ve set two goals for myself. One that was instantly achievable, and the other near impossible.’
Davidson’s show is really based around one central theme, pigeons, who oddly played quite a large part in his childhood ‘when I was eight years old they were the only living things outside of my parents that thought I was cool’ he explains. His routine is an attempt to build the bridge and burn the misconceptions we have towards ‘rats with wings’, which he delivers with cackling aplomb. Davidson is also prone to a bit of a dance on stage for no reason simpler than ‘I have a heartbeat… therefore I dance.’ So be prepared just in case he wants to get his dance on with you, he’s a comedian who really likes to involve his audience. With his solo show picking up ground swirl, he continues to build his reputation, and apparently he has a sneaky project on the horizon that we should keep our eyes peeled for ‘there’s something in the works with Dave Callan that will be epic, but that is all I can say right now.’
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Christophe, who had to earn his stripes in what could be deemed as a Canadian comic’s rite of passage. ‘In Montreal, a lot of comics went through this job at this one club where as soon as you were funny enough for them to notice you, they offered you a job mopping the floor. It gave you a guaranteed spot every Monday on their open mic night, which was invaluable when starting out. So you took it…like a little bitch.’
As an avid comedy enthusiast I’ve always wondered about the comedy festivals on a global scale. I was always under the impression they would be of similar ilks whether it be Edinburgh, Montréal or Melbourne, but it seems that couldn’t be further from the truth. ‘I was just having this exact conversation last night with Mike Wilmont (one of my favorites and arguably one of the best in the world, just don’t tell him that). We were talking about how different the festivals are. Up until recently, The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival consisted almost entirely of variety shows with acts flying over from all over the world (although mostly the U.S. & Canada) to do a handful of seven-minute sets. A format still hung over from the mid eighties when every comic in North America was working on their Tonight Show spot. Just recently JFL has been increasing the amount of solo shows in a separate festival that they call ‘Zoofest’. JFL is also curated, so you have to be invited in order to perform there. The biggest difference is the hour-long format though. I find comedy much more progressive here for the most part. You guys are doing it right, and Montreal is starting to take after Melbourne, not the other way around.‘
Melbourne hasn’t always been too kind to Davidson though, so it seems like we’re lucky to have him back after a disastrous gig at last years event. ‘Oh god. I do this act where I play the guitar and improvise a song based on the audience. So the plan for this gig was to get on an Op-Shop bus tour in between one of the stops and do the song. Only problem was the bus really bumped around and it was hard enough to keep my footing let alone play the song. No one could hear me past three bus seats over. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. So much so, as I was handing out flyers one dude handed me his card, he was a Church minister. I think he was giving it to me as a way out. As if to say, “You don’t need to do this to yourself anymore, God loves you.”’
While I can’t recommend Davidson’s show enough myself, with it’s aforementioned pigeon facts and dancing, as well as smartly written observational quips, the Canuck is an all-around nice guy who wants to plug other comedians at every opportunity. ‘Eric Amber, DeAnne Smith, and Mike Wilmont are great Canadian acts with vastly different styles and material. There’s also a hilarious double act from Melbourne, Dingo & Wolf. They’re at a level of silly previously only shared between girls at a slumber party, when no guys were around. Don’t miss them.’
Stand-up aside Davidson is just out to enjoy Melbourne for all that it is, and he has already began to settle on what he loves, and what he doesn’t really love about the city that’s so often compared to his homeland. ‘My favorite thing about Melbourne would have to be the food. I’m a big fan of eating and you have every option imaginable. From the most decadent pig’s face served on a bed of endangered birds, to the most anti-gluten, vegan food where you can’t even talk about animals, served with a thousand karma hit points. You’ve got it all. My least favorite thing would have to be Punt Rd. I love life, and Punt Rd. is out to destroy it.‘
Be certain to catch The Time of Your Life at the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Visit here for show information and tickets.
