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Feeling a Little Psycho

When is a comedian not a comedian? Jonathan McGee speaks to Mark Little and finds out . . .

Mark Little is quite sure what he doesn't want to do. He doesn't do stand-up. He's about to embark on a two month tour, playing up to four nights in some towns, bringing to the stage what every piece of promotional literature available has described as stand-up comedy. Mark, who is currently adapting Arcadia by Jim Crace into a screenplay, has other ideas, 'Over the years, alternative comedy started out as riot control, every one was heckling, then slowly but surely everyone got polite and alternative comedy got a lot more conservative. It was comedy commodity commercialism, it wasn't seen as an art form or way of saying any message or moral dilemma or socio-political event. It became about telling a joke and getting a few beers out of it, you know? That never interested me and I always avoided that.'
Character is used as a device in many different mediums to convey a sense of meaning or belief in the actions of the observed. Actors more often than not refer to themselves in the third person when describing a portrayal of the character they have been delivering. Stars of the music world, on the other hand, have given credence to their message by asking us to believe that they are bona fide, 100% mad for it. For real. The pop star may take offence if one were to suggest that their Sunday DIY habit was a tad un-rock n' roll, actors gasp in horror at the suggestion that they have a habit of any other kind. What both of these stereotypes offer is belief in their product, or craft. Then we come to comedians. A ragtail oddball bunch, slightly off segue with the traditional moves of the society yet providing acute observations of it. Or perhaps not. Perhaps they are the sort of person who once talked, people responded with positive laughter and they thought they would share their views and their life - they would give it a go. What is apparent is the chameleon nature of the comedian. Are they merely representing a character or are they revealing their true self?
Mark, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney from 1978, is abundant with the dichotomies of his representation. Mark found himself at loggerheads with the institution he won entry to, although realising the importance of such classics as Shakespeare he believed that an Australian theatre representative of Australian culture should also be covered. Mark's comedy show was a reaction against this, 'I wrote my own theatre and it was a solo performance. Australian surrealist stuff - and this is what has been referred to as my stand-up comedy. I've never referred to it as stand-up comedy. I would say my shows are comedy performances for sure but my shows are more of an experience, more of an event.' What do you call a comedian that isn't a comedian?

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