British Comedy Activist Liz Carr Is Giving State-Apporoved Suicide A Broadway Makeover

28 March 2017 | 3:31 pm | Maxim Boon

"They'd be singing this chirpy little song about, 'Anal rape. Anal rape! La-la-la-la.' And people would be clapping along and laughing."

She's a woman, disabled, gay, potently intelligent, exceptionally creative and fiercely accomplished. In short, comedian and actor Liz Carr is The Anti-Trump. However, while the outspoken activist, comedian and star of BBC crime drama Silent Witness is a famously uncowed firebrand, the political has been a significant presence in her comedy since long before old mate Don made it to The Oval Office. "I've always felt an urgency and a necessity to speak out. For me, it's always felt like common sense and an obligation. Or perhaps responsibility is a better word - obligation makes it sound like it's difficult, and I've never felt like addressing issues I feel passionately about is hard work," she explains. "If anything's different these days, I guess it's that I now have confirmation of how important it is to challenge these attitudes. Being truthful and being true to your yourself and having integrity - they're the things that are even more important now."

That's not to say that championing a political cause has to be a solemn duty. For Carr, it's not a chore but a pleasure. "I don't think my motivation was to change the world. My motivation is: I'm an exhibitionist! I like to make people laugh, I like to perform, I like telling a story," she shares. "I'm quite skilled at communicating, it's how I make a living. But whether that's as a comedian, or as an actor, or as a speaker, I'm not afraid to pipe up about the issues that concern me. There's so much that people think but never say, but I always try to say those things out loud. I think that's so important."

"They'd be singing this chirpy little song about, 'Anal rape. Anal rape! La-la-la-la.' And people would be clapping along and laughing." 

Carr's most ambitious stage production to date is an excellent case in point. Assisted Suicide: The Musical uses the glitz and glamour of Broadway to take a darkly comic look at the distinctly comedy-free topic of euthanasia. Carr, who is a vocal opponent of assisted suicide, believes the juxtaposition of the saccharine schmaltz of musical theatre and the stark reality of state-endorsed suicide is a powerful method of bringing this complex debate out of the shadows and into the spotlight — quite literally.

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"If you're trying to open up a subject that's difficult and taboo and hard to talk about and painful, how are you going to do that? Really, what happened for me was this coming together of all the things I've done in my life. Campaigning and comedy and presenting and broadcasting - all those things have played a part in the creation of this show," Carr says. "Musical comedy is a deceptively powerful thing. I'd go to some stand-up gig, and someone would come on stage with a bloody ukulele or something like that, and they'd be singing this chirpy little song about, 'Anal rape. Anal rape! La-la-la-la.' And people would be clapping along and laughing, so that really made me sit up and think, 'Okay, music is fascinating'."

Satire as boldfaced and razor-edged as Carr’s is bound to be divisive, and indeed, Assisted Suicide The Musical takes more than one sacred cow to slaughter in its sometimes confronting dissection of an emotionally volatile yet misunderstood issue. The guarantee of provoking at least some degree of ire might well be intimidating for many artists, but Carr is a willing antagonist, albeit with a clear political purpose. “We’re going to have a seat available for Daniel Andrews [the Premier of Victoria] every night. An hour and half of his time is all we’re asking for – what’s he got to lose?” Carr asks. “If somebody has a strong opinion about this subject either way, don’t shut down the conversation. If you really want assisted suicide, don’t be afraid of listening, don’t be afraid of engaging in a robust, informed conversation. We should be able to have this discussion as a discussion, not as a polarised argument where it’s a simple question of black and white, right and wrong. Because it's really not that simple."

Carr's comedic instincts are certainly of the shock and awe variety, but even though her jokes might alarm or even scandalise, it's humour built on a foundation of thoroughly thought-through conviction. Funny doesn't have to mean flippant, she insists. "A lot of the comedy I've done in my time, the audience response has been 'gasp' or hand over the mouth. It's that, 'I can't believe I'm laughing at that'-type reaction — that's a big turn on for me," she smiles. "Comedy that's really relatable and easy - that kind of traditional, observational comedy - it's always going to be the bread and butter of the stand-up scene. But what happens when comedy explores those things we privately think about but that we're too inhibited to utter aloud? That's when you're really breaking ground. Going to those places where people haven't gone before - man, that's a thrill. That's such a thrill when you get to those places."

Liz Carr presents Assisted Suicide The Musical30 Mar — 9 Apr at Malthouse Theatre, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.