Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod
- Publication: The Sydney Morning Herald
- Date: 1982-03-05
- Author: Susan Molly
- Page:
- Language: English
The sub-title of the Nintrod Downstairs Theatre's newest offering, Sleep Never Rusts 'Nice, is "loons and toons."
The "loons" come from two of Australia's finest songwriters and guitarists, Al Ward and Dan Johnson.
The "loons" factor is in the form of crazy-eyed comedians Geoff Kelso and Lance Curtis.
Having a conversation with them is similar to trying to talk to an entire comedy troupe of clowns. one-liner smart talkers and self-confessed crazies.
Curtis and Kelso do send-ups of country music, skits at break-neck speed and idiocy at an alarming level.
But it works.
On their recent stint at Melbourne's Le Joke. the duo managed to make that city's culturati scream with mirth and wince hysterically over their bourbons. Not being one noted for her sense of humour. even I managed a smile, or two.
Geoff Kelso. a Perth boy and NIDA graduate who won two national Professional Theatre awards in 1977 (Best Actor, Western Australia, and Best New Talent), said he stopped doing straight acting after it was acknowledged that he was a good actor.
Lance Curtis, an arts graduate from the University of NSW. found he just continued doing comedy revues after university. The two of them have presented their Goon-style madness at Le Joke, at the Nimrod two years ago in the original Sleep Never Rusts Twice, at the Cabaret Conspiracy, the Son of Rosy Cafe. the Toucan club in Glebe, and at Garibaldi's.
They would be best known for their creation, together with Steve Johnston and Ken Matthews, of Dr Poo, a morning radio program aired for 445 episodes on 2-JJJ.
"It was a very stupid, mad, jam-packed science fiction, dirty, toilet parody of Dr Who," Geoff Kelso said. More than 10,000 listeners joined the Dr Poo fan club, but the show was axed when the radio station cut its special programs.
Curtis and Kelso have a history of axed programs. They also worked on the now defunct Willesee '81 comedy spots, and on television's short-lived Ratbags.
"Comedy is hit and miss. It was all work anyway," Lance Curtis said philosophically.
Their show opened last night for a four-week season. They said audiences should not expect theatre, but rather a composite of music, send-ups of personalties such as Jethro Toll and Donovan, and brittle one-liner fast, fast jokes.
Caption: Comedians Geoff Kelso, left, and Lance Curtis.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Molly, Susan (1982-03-05). Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod. The Sydney Morning Herald .
- MLA 7th ed.: Molly, Susan. "Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod." The Sydney Morning Herald [add city] 1982-03-05. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Molly, Susan. "Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod." The Sydney Morning Herald, edition, sec., 1982-03-05
- Turabian: Molly, Susan. "Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod." The Sydney Morning Herald, 1982-03-05, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Loons_and_toons_fan_the_mirth_at_the_Nimrod | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | pages= | date=1982-03-05 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Loons and toons fan the mirth at the Nimrod | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Loons_and_toons_fan_the_mirth_at_the_Nimrod | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 March 2025}}</ref>
