Not your average bedtime story
Popular comedic duo Matthew Kelly and Richard Higgins, aka The Listies, are bringing ROFL — a sketch comedy extravaganza — to Spiegel Fest in November this year. This family show shines the comedy spotlight on the most terrifyingly tortuous family situation of all: BEDTIME. Ilona Hanne caught up with the maestros of fart jokes ahead of the festival to find out more.
While you are known across the globe as The Listies, your actual names are Richard and Matthew, or do you prefer Rich and Matt?
Rich: On stage we are Rich and Matt, but when it comes to being actual grown-up humans, who book hotels, buy airline tickets and things, we are Richard and Matthew.
So how did Rich and Matt, or Richard and Matthew, choose the name The Listies for the act?
Rich: We actually started out in 2008 as an alternative comedy and variety act called “The List Operators” where we made lists of anything and everything. Then, when we ended up doing kids’ shows, the name The List Operators was too long for kids.
Matt: We always make lists in our shows, so we kept that part of the name. We interact with the audience, walk around with the microphone making list of all sorts of things, favourite foods, what pets they have, what their grandma’s name is, and turn it all into lists.
Still on the subject of names, and changing names. The show you are bringing to Taranaki — ROFL — originally had a slightly longer name didn’t it? What was it, and why did it change?
Matt: Google! It was called ROFLSHALBOWCO or Rolling On The Floor Laughing So Hard A Little Bit Of Wee Comes Out but it wasn’t great for Google searches.
Rich: It’s really hard to spell. And our producers hated it. I hated it. Everyone except Matt hated it.
Matt: I loved it! Actually, I think the venues we were booking in were also a bit worried by the name, they thought they might have to increase their cleaning costs.
What inspired ROFL? Matt:
I was at a friend’s house and watched their kid, quote-unquote, “going to bed”. There were a thousand excuses, I need to clean my teeth, I need a story . . . and it was just so relatable.
Rich: In the show I am trying to
get Matt to go to bed, and the audience are our visitors so I am saying, “it’s great you are here, but it’s bedtime and Matt has to go to bed”.
Matt: And I have a hundred reasons why I can’t. I need to brush my teeth, I need to practise my musical instrument, I need a bedtime story . . . and then that story is about Jack and the beanstalk, only Jack’s beans are baked beans and he farts himself into space.
Fart jokes — why do kids love fart jokes so much, and other than fart jokes, what makes kids love your shows so much? Matt:
Well, we do give every child who comes to our show a free puppy. And lots of lollies. Seriously though, it’s stuff they can relate to, trying to avoid going to bed, that happens in homes every day with kids, so it’s stuff they know.
Rich: Kids love seeing rules being broken, and our shows are all about the rules being broken . . . I think for a while, a lot of kids’ shows were all about teaching a message, why we should save water or recycle, and that’s great and honourable of course,
but actually, as adults, when we go to a comedy show we just want to be entertained, and kids are no different.
What about parents? Will parents and caregivers enjoy the show too or is it purely for kids?
Rich: Yes, everyone has bought a ticket so we do make sure everyone will be entertained. We have some jokes that adults will get more than kids.
Matt: Given the topic, every parent will certainly relate to it, in fact, we might need to put out a warning at the start that it will be an emotional subject for some parents, getting kids to bed.
You have two performances scheduled for Spiegel Fest, with the second one described as RP — Relaxed Performance, meaning it’s more accessible to neurodiverse people, or those with sensory or communication needs. Why have you done this?
Matt: The performance itself isn’t different, but the environment is. It’s about making sure everyone can access and enjoy theatre.
Rich: We have taken the lead from a bunch of Australian theatres and venues that have done a lot of work in making theatre more accessible. We want everyone to come away from one of our shows excited by live performances and theatre.