Damien Power Needs Ice Cream To Power Through A Comedy Marathon

Damien Power's ideal vision in his new show isn't your garden variety utopia. There aren't many problems today that can solved with a decent sized fig leaf, for one thing. Instead, Power is attempting to deconstruct intricate socio-political concepts with his sharp wit and a mic. That can be complicated.

"It's stand-up, obviously. Ah, jeez, how do I describe it?" considers the comedian. "It covers some pretty big ideas, from a personal perspective, to do with utopia and idealised notions of life and love and romance, and then talks about bigger societal versions of those same themes. Talking about technological utopian ideas and then political utopias and the failure of politics at the moment.

"But it is also very funny," assures Power with a laugh. "I really have trouble selling the show 'cause I say all those things and then people get deterred because it's like, 'Ugh, it sounds like a lecture.'"

"I think you have got to be well aware that you will suffer a deep depression at some point."

Festival crowds haven't needed much arm twisting and the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. By the time this issue prints finalists for MICF's Barry Award will have been announced and, for the third year, Power is looking like a strong contender. "Jesus," he chuckles, "I try not to think too much about that. I think if I come back with a good show, which I think this one is, and people that have come to previous years come and enjoy it and like it and get a lot out of it, then I think that's the best you can hope for in the long run: that people are coming back year after year. As long as you're enjoying creating work and you're creating work constantly and doing stuff constantly, that you enjoy, then that's all you can really hope for, I think. The rest is out of your hands."

Enjoying the work is a definite must during comedy season. Power performed ten nights in a row at Perth Fringe and he's currently in the middle of 22 shows in 26 days. That's not a schedule - it's a marathon. "I think you have got to be well aware that you will suffer a deep depression at some point," laughs Powers. "And you can't be too surprised when it happens. The less surprised you are the better. It is exhausting, it absolutely honestly is."

So what's the best way to power through it? Grab a couple pints? Yoga in the park? Mow down a heckler? "There's a lot of eating ice cream on the couch, I think. It's a lot of ah, getting home and just going to sleep as soon as you can so you can muster the energy to do it night in, night out. Because every night someone's coming or there's a reviewer in. Every night, for a month, you're on show."