A PIONEER of “ethnic humour” in Australia, comedian and actor George Kapiniaris is ready to make everyone laugh at Town Hall on Friday, December 13.
When asked if he believes in superstitions, Kapiniaris laughed.
“Nothing can stop comedy,” he said.
“Comedy laughs at the face of Friday the 13th.”
Growing up in a Greek family helped Kapiniaris at university develop his style of comedy, which would later put a spotlight on “wog culture” in Australia.
After breaking into showbiz with the stage show Wogs Out of Work with Nick Giannopoulos, Kapiniaris starred in many television shows – most notably as DJ in The Flying Doctors and Memo in the sitcom Acropolis Now, and later he appeared in Fat Pizza and Housos.
While Kapiniaris’ work proudly and hilariously portrays “wog culture”, he said his stand-up gigs had evolved over time to cater for a variety of demographics.
“Earlier in my career, I used to rely on a ‘woggy’ crowd,” he said.
“But after performing on cruise ships for some time, I became better at catering to a non-wog crowd as well.
“It was a challenge at first, but now I can cater to all sorts of people whether they are ethnic, bogans or whatever.”
Kapiniaris said the show next Friday was “not your standard stand-up show”.
“There’s elements of music and audience participation,” he said.
“It’ll be a lot of fun. They’re not going to be watching an amateur show, they’ll be watching a great show.”
While Kapiniaris is all too familiar with performing at comedy clubs in the city, he said he was looking forward to coming to Swan Hill.
“It’s great to go to a place where you normally don’t do shows,” he said.
“The audiences in country towns are really appreciative because they don’t often get to see a comedy show.
“They come for a good night out and we appreciate that as performers.”
Hosting the show with Kapiniaris will be Ethiopian-Australian comedian Joe White, born Tilahun Hailu.
“Joe’s comedy is really unique and he will bring a lot on the show,” Kapiniaris said.
“He’ll be meeting audience members on the night and getting them to pronounce his name.
“Both of our comedy is is really colourful. Our show is really a celebration of who we all are, where we come from, and what a great place we live in.”
Comedy with George Kapiniaris starts at 8pm on December 13 at the Swan Hill Town Hall.
Tickets are available online at swanhilltownhall.com/events/comedy-with-george-kapiniaris.
