10 Quick Qs – Heath Franklin
Heath Franklin is despondent at all the success he’s had, so he’s coming to Adelaide Fringe to see if he can change his luck. We ask him the tough questions.
1. Describe your show Twitter-style, 140 character or less!
A man blessed with good luck and a comedian cursed by it. See it or spend eternity wondering what might have been. #obligatoryhashtagjoke
2. Do you feel pressured to be funny at family gatherings?
No. Sometimes it’s really nice to shut up and listen for a change, and sometimes it’s easiest to have fun when there is no pressure to.
3. Is this your first Adelaide Fringe? If so, what are you most looking forward to? If not, what is your least favourite thing about the festival?
I love the Adelaide Fringe. I think the hardest thing is being awake for AGES before your shows starts. When you wake up at 11am and start work at 9pm it’s a long weird day.
4. What was the most challenging aspect about preparing your show?
Making sure your head is right for it. Making sure you aren’t too hungry or full or sleepy or over-caffeinated, well-exercised but not exhausted, focused but not introverted. Also having it written has proven to be a huge advantage.
5. If you could be any character in any movie, who and what would it be?
I would be the extra in Empire Strikes Back that says the line, “Two fighters against a star destroyer?” Because he completely craps on it. He sounds like he’s asleep with a local anaesthetic to the face. Lucas should have fixed that stinker of a performance with his fancy computers.
6. Who’s your biggest comedic idol?
Richard Pryor was the one who really got me interested as a kid. There are a lot of great Australian comics who were very generous with their time and support too.
7. Is heckling allowed?
I don’t see the point. It’s usually some drunk piece of shit who is so unaware of themselves and the gaping deficiencies in their own life that they cant go without attention for 55 minutes. These sorts of people never have anything interesting to say which is why it’s so annoying when they derail everything just to share the crap-stained banality of their own stupid thoughts.
8. What’s your favourite Internet-related guilty indulgence?
I’ll tell you my second favourite. Clips of air show disasters. No one gets a medal when someone dies at an air show.
9. What is the biggest accolade you’ve received from one of your shows?
“You didn’t crash a jet fighter into a crowd of innocent spectators.”
10. What other Fringe show are you most excited to catch up with?
The thing I love about Fringe festivals is the number of crazy Dutch people doing wonderful bizarre Dutch stuff. Anything Dutch.
You can catch Heath Franklin and his alter-ego Chopper from the 14th February.
