Ferny Creek’s Marcus Neofitou is preparing to break a comedy drought in the Hills.– Paul Pickering
AS the Hills bathed in a summer deluge last week, a Ferny Creek resident was planning to break a drought of another kind.
Marcus Neofitou, organiser and master of ceremonies of the Comedy Invasion of the Hills show, says that a downpour of comedy is set to regenerate the humour of the foothills.
Mr Neofitou has long lamented the absence of a regular comedy venue in the area, calling for more variety in hills entertainment.
Belgrave and Ferntree Gully have established a strong culture of live music, but Mr Neofitou is perplexed about the reluctance of comedic talent to venture into Melbourne’s outer-east.
“If we can get the top musicians, then why can’t we also get the top comedians?”
Mr Neofitou is excited to see well-known comedians such as Hung Le (The Wogboy, Fat Pizza) and Andrea Powell (a.k.a. Ethel Chop) among the invaders who will engage Ruby’s Lounge on 1 February.
The show will also introduce patrons to the art of “theatre anarchy”, an improvisational contest that will pit stand-up comics against the Ruby’s Dream Team.
Mr Neofitou’s grounding in the brutal industry of stand-up comedy informs his tongue-in-cheek prediction that the show will become “a cultural phenomenon”.
