OBSERVER: Here If You Need
Mick Neven (pictured) presents his 12th solo show Here If You Need as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 20 at 8pm at The Charles Dickens Tavern, 290 Collins St, Melbourne.
Last year Mick’s daughter turned 16 and introduced him to her first boyfriend. What a fun time for any Dad. Also last year … once again in Australia, two women a week were murdered by men, mostly current and former ‘romantic’ partners.
There’s nothing funny about gendered violence, so how can anyone write a stand up comedy show about it?
Mick says: “Sometimes there’s comedy in the things that make us angry. If two people a week were being killed by sharks, we’d have a National Shark Emergency Action Plan within two months. Two women a week get killed by men, that’s business as usual.”
Mick Neven likes to tackle tough topics in his solo shows. Some of his previous solo shows have been about Dementia, The War On Drugs, Bullying, Climate Change and more. None of those topics are objectively funny, but Mick aims to craft his show with punch, humour and a heart.
Now Mick is the father of a 16-year-old girl who plays footy, he has to navigate things like online pornography, plastic surgery and botox, the gender pay gap and how to spot potential grubs on the apps. All of these things add up, and when the twist comes in the show…well there’s nothing funny about that. It’s an awkward moment…and deliberately so.
Mick is a former journalist who saw the first work in progress on the Sunshine Coast called it “an electric response to some of the most taboo issues of today”. After a performance at Fringe World Perth, a woman in the audience gave Mick a hug to say thank you. So Mick knows there’s definitely something in there that works.
Mick Neven has been performing stand-up comedy for 21 years and comedy has taken him all over the world.
He’s gigged all over the UK and Asia, toured Canada, performed in New York and been on three tours for Forces Entertainment, performing for Aussie troops serving overseas.
Where: The Charles Dickens Tavern, 290 CollinsSt, Melbourne
When: 8pm Monday to Saturday, 7pm Sunday…every night until April 20
Tickets: comedyfestival.com.au
Cheryl Threadgold

