The Wild West Comedy Festival is rolling into town soon for two weeks of comedy gold. OUTinPerth spoke to local comedian Joel Creasey about his upcoming show and his celebrity acquaintances.
So what are you doing as part of the Wild West Comedy Festival? I’m putting on my own show called Slumber party which has just come back from the Melbourne Comedy Festival, so it’s an hour of me basically.
In pyjamas? No, not in pyjamas. It’s another element of the slumber party which is more the gossiping, bitching, backstabbing side of it. But people are welcome to wear pyjamas if they want to.
So run us through some of the gossip and bitching that gets covered? I’m going to be talking about people I’ve met, people that have annoyed me; people that have done stupid things in front of me; celebrities that I’ve met. I’ve met quite a few celebrities and I tell a few different stories about some of them I’ve met.
And could you give us a few names? I met Christina Aguilera, do you know she doesn’t like being looked in the eyes, at all. And I stupidly looked her in the eye and sort of gave her a shock before going on stage… She did this weird spasm thing; it was so strange. She’s a bit of a diva.
So what sort of conclusions do you reach about that kind of behaviour? I think she’s crazy and needs a good slap in the face, that’s my diagnosis.
Who else have you met? Well I met Lady Gaga but I tell a nice story about meeting her because I met her when she was normal. And by normal I mean before she was putting crustaceans in her hair. She was actually quite nice and she is a bigger star than all of them now and she was the most down to earth.
How did you meet her? I got to go backstage in Sydney when she was supporting the Pussycat Dolls and she was wearing a giant red condom, which was kind of exciting. I said to her ‘Oh, so you don’t hang around to watch the Pussycat Dolls’ and she goes to me ‘No way. I bought the CD and it’s the same thing.’
So how do you get to meet so many celebrities? I just talk my way in backstage, I’ve gigged with a few of them, and I’ve MC’d for a few Australian celebrities. I’m just in the right place at the right time.
So what else takes place at the Slumber Party, do you tell ghost stories? I don’t tell ghost stories. I tell stories about my mother, about the age of an old ghost, their appreciation of the wine and some of the crazy things she’s done. We also do a pass-the parcel which has a picture of a celebrity that I’ve met in each layer and basically, take them down. So it’s a different spin on the kid’s sort of pass-the-parcel.
So does Justin Bieber come in for a bit of a sledging, considering we’re just getting over Bieber-fever? Well I was fascinated when I saw it. My mum taught me my crappy music fascination. I wasn’t going to talk about Justin, I didn’t even know who he was. But now I do talk about him, he’s quite a big deal. He’s kind of like a singing foetus.
And you’re openly gay as well, aren’t you? Yeah sure.
Are there many gay comedians out there? There’s a few but not many. It’s a bit like there aren’t many women comedians. It’s a very male-dominated industry and that’s a tough thing. A lot of the comedy audiences think everyone is like Dave Hughes and although he’s a great comedian, we’re not all like him.
So what can you tell us about the Wild West Comedy Festival? It’s Perth’s comedy festival; it’s an annual thing and its two weeks of comedy. There are so many comedians flying over from interstate. I’ll be supporting Fiona O’Loughlin. Basically, for Perth comedy fans, there is so much to see.
Joel Creasey’s Slumber Party happens at the Hellenic Centre in Northbridge from May 20 to May 22 as part of The Wild West Comedy Festival. Tickets are available now. www.bocsticketing.com.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell & Benn Dorrington
