102: Lisa Gatenby - Never Growing Up

Lisa Gatenby is the Peter Pan of stand-up comedy. Having worked in the business of children's toys for many years, Lisa admits she's never grown up, and loves to add a level of silliness to her performance. In this interview, you'll learn how Lisa has developed her stand-up comedy skills since gra…

101: Tom Siegert - Fighting for Comedy

Comedian Tom Siegert got his comedy spark at the Gershwin Room in St Kilda. His muse was the legendary comedian Greg Fleet. Today, Tom’s an established comedian in his own right, having performed on TV and at comedy festivals around Australia, as well as hosting his own podcast, Good Banter, with f…

100: Katie Burch – Avoiding the waffle and being cruel

Comedian Katie Burch didn't want to work at NASA or work towards world peace. She wanted to be a comedian, and a dark comedian at that.   In this 100th episode of the School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast, host Steve Davis chats with former National Raw Comedy Finalist Katie Burch about what it tak…

099: Ashley Fils-Aime – Reinventing yourself in comedy

Haitian-American comedian Ashley Fils-Aime had it all. International tours, sold out shows, and supporting a mega comedian for 11 years. But he stepped away, for love. In this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode you'll learn how Ashley had to reinvent himself throughout life. First, growin…

098: Wayne Deakin – Overcoming the wilful ignorance in comedy

When you start out in comedy, you're looking for stuff that is funny. When you get good, you find stuff you want to talk about, and make that funny. So says comedian Wayne Deakin, a 20 plus year veteran of stand-up comedy who has performed in London, New York, Las Vegas, Montreal, all over Australi…

097: Lewis Spears – The consummate professional behind the 'Spears' brand

By dying, Prince Phillip helped sell out comedian Lewis Spears' last week of his Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) show. Morbid, yes. But also, totally on brand. And totally orchestrated. Yes, mainstream media, like the Daily Mail who called Spears a monster, was played by this true pr…

096: Charles Firth – Exposing truths and undermining power structures with satire

Six and a half million people a month consume The Chaser's content. That's some seriously sought-after satire! In this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode, host and Chaser fanboy, Steve Davis, chats with The Chaser's, Charles Firth, about creating headlines and the editorial process, adopt…

095: Ian McFadyen – Creating an Australian sketch comedy national treasure

In 1988 The Comedy Company changed the face of Australian sketch comedy. Kylie Mole, Uncle Arthur, Con the Fruiterer, and Colin Carpenter became part of the Australian lexicon. So too their creators - Mary-Anne Faye, Glenn Robbins, Mark Mitchell and Kym Gyngell, as well as Russell Gilbert, Tim Smit…

094: Simon Kennedy – Crossing the line and the Art of Happiness

In comedy timing is everything. But when you're a radio host, you manage time like a fine art. So says Sydney based comedian Simon Kennedy, a former radio host and 20 year veteran of stand-up comedy. In this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode, host Steve Davis talks to comedian Simon Kenn…

093: Daniel Muggleton – Comedy during Covid and Three Stripes

Comedian Daniel Muggleton is known for the three stripe Adidas tracksuit and big moustache. For the past two years Daniel has been based in the UK and, no-thanks to Covid-19, he's back in Australia. In this School of Hard Knock Knocks podcast episode host Steve Davis and Daniel Muggleton, also kno…