Who would be a comedian? Not me. That's for sure. For starters, standing up in front of a crowd of people and trying to make them laugh is not something that rattles my chain. Don't get me wrong, I can be funny. I crack myself up all the time. And I make my kids laugh when I dance to Taylor Swift and stuff.
So yeah, I can be funny. But I'm not naturally funny like most comedians are - or should be. Because - not naming names here - but sometimes the excruciating pain a stand-up goes through to get a gag out does make you wonder how naturally it comes. But yeah, like I say, I'm not naming names but yous know who yous are. I just made a joke by the way. Did you get it?
Anyway, I went off on a tangent (like all good comedians can), but what I've been slowly getting around to saying is that being a comedian can be a fickle job. It's come through loud and clear during this year's comedy festival with reports of low crowd numbers at some shows, and international comedy star Rainer Hersch venting about losing thousands of dollars due to lack of attendance at his almost two-week run at the Comedy Chamber.
He even advised other comedians to steer clear of our event, which seems a bit harsh considering so many of the internationals come here and love it (we know this because often their Kiwi stories make up a good chunk of the material during their shows. I mean that Danny Bhoy bloke may as well live here.)
But you can't help feel for Hersch, whose musical show is far more expensive to put on than that of some scruffy stand-up who only needs to pack a clean pair of undies. And so after a disastrous season and a number of administrative incidents (like being charged for sending out a promotional email), he was obviously keen to make some laugh on the wrong side of their faces.