EVANGELINE THAN

Tim Ferguson, Felicity Ward, and Sam Longley. Tim’s first guest, Michael Connell, is hiding to the left of the stage. Just pretend he’s in the picture. He’s the guy with the harmonica.

I was soundly entertained last Thursday evening at the opening of the Wild West Comedy Festival Club in the Brass Monkey Hotel.

We shared a table with Alan Payne from the WA branch of the Australian Writers’ Guild. He appears at the best gigs in town, our Alan. Annie Murtagh-Monks from PAC was at the next table. I found David Downie and his lovely lady, Jen, at the bar after the show, and spotted Russell Woolf holding court about five feet away.

Tim Ferguson was the host of the evening, and interviewed comedians Michael Connell, Sam Longley, and Felicity Ward about what made them tick and which dark places their comedy sprang from. Michael Connell and pine cones are now forever intertwined in my brain. Felicity Ward is nimble and lovely. “Sssh!” she said to the hecklers sitting behind us. “It’s not the DVD, you know!” Sam Longley is very, very tall, and a bastion of the Perth comedy scene. I attended a writing workshop with him once. He is rather nice. And tall.

On a side note, I’d like to point out that surreal moments seem to dog the rare nights that I go out to Northbridge.

At the table behind us were three, extremely drunk girls who kept repeating what Felicity Ward was saying. At one point, Ward said, “As you know, comedians have their dark moments,” and one of the girls whimpered, “I have dark moments,” and then started crying into her chardonnay. I peered at her and she had intoxicated zombie eyes. I could have asked her and her friends to help a Nigerian prince save his family treasure and they would have handed me their ATM cards in two seconds. Ah, Perth colour.

There are plenty of fantastic acts left to enjoy at the Wild West Comedy Festival. Check what’s on at http://www.wildwestcomedy.com.au.