| First Man Standing | Rod Quantock |
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Forty Years a Fool.
FIRST MAN STANDING is a walk down Memory Tollway (Rod remembers it when it was a Lane) with Rod Quantock, a foundation member of contemporary Australian comedy, writer, actor and activist, who after forty years in the biz, remains one of Australia’s finest and most respected personalities.
The year was 1968. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assassinated, Nixon was elected. Saddam Hussein gained power in 1968. And, closer to our hearts, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was born. Co-incidentally 1968 was the year that award-winning Rod Quantock first strolled onto a stage. “Quantock is an amiable buffoon.” The Melbourne Herald, 1968.
Ten tears after his stage debut, Rod opened Australia’s first performer owned and operated theatre restaurant, The Comedy Café & Banana Lounge. “Sophisticated satire, unpretentious, daffy… Quantock’s easy rambling fills the stage... a comedian for thinkers.’ The Melbourne Times, 1978.
Another decade on and Rod was the talk of the Edinburgh Festival and a Perrier Award nominee. “For sheer cheek and inventiveness, the amazing Rod Quantock must take the honours. Bizarre, fresh, theatrically dangerous, unpredictable.” The Guardian (UK), 1988.
In 1998 he took on the Kennett Government and sold out shows around the country. “We walked away entertained, reflective and finally, amazed. If you only see one comedy show this year, make it Rod Quantock.” The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 1998.
In between he pioneered Australian stand-up comedy, turned public transport into a venue and, among many other achievements, co-conceived and starred in Australia, You’re Standing In It, ABC-TV’s first Melbourne comedy production and the door-opener for all that followed.
Now, forty years on, in 2008 he’s still the FIRST MAN STANDING.
From his first routine in the Melbourne University Architects’ Revue to his musings on contemporary events, Australia’s most seriously funny comedian Rod Quantock will reprieve the things that have made him laugh for the last four decades and set a course for decades to come.
“That he continues to build new, younger audiences all the time is testament to one of the most impressive careers in Australian comedy,” Susan Provan, Festival Director, Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
“A national treasure.” The Australian
Rod Quantock presents
FIRST MAN STANDING
Venue: Trades Hall, Carlton
Dates/Time: Wednesday 6 August to Saturday 6 September, 8:00pm
Tickets: Wednesdays/Thursdays Full $30, Conc $20; Fridays/Saturdays Full $35 Conc $30
Bookings: www.comedyattrades.com.au or (03) 9659 3569 or at the door.
http://quantock.com.au/
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