Aireys Pub Comedy Night [Surf Coast]
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Aireys Pub Comedy Night [Surf Coast]

Want to spend a long winter night having a bunch of laughs? Well the Aireys Inlet Pub is hosting a free Open Mic Comedy Night on July 26. The event is a celebration of local comedy, with about a dozen amateur comedians from all over Victoria taking the stage for five or ten minutes each, while Canadian comedy star John Dore will be headlining.
The comedy night is the brainchild of Bellbrae’s own Tait Middleton, himself a budding stand-up comic. He says it’s all about giving ordinary people a chance to have a go at stand-up.
“Earlier this year a bunch of us local aspiring joke tellers decided to enter the Raw Comedy competition where we performed at GPAC to about 250 people. While we were there it was pretty apparent that there were a few people eager to get up on stage and have a crack at comedy but there was nowhere to really do it around the Geelong and Surf Coast area. One of the guys I performed with put on an open mic comedy night in Ocean Grove in April and it was a massive success. Not to be outdone, I decided to contact the Aireys Pub. They were keen to have a night like that down there and give us a chance to perform and share some comedy with the local punters.”
Most of the performers are very new to the comedy scene, and some will be performing for the first time on the night. Tait is hoping for a big crowd to come along and support local comedy, something he thinks we should all do more.
“In my eyes we don’t really follow our own stand-up comics and we love to import them from every other country,” he says. “In all honesty, I just want a night where the audience walks away and say to their friends and family that they watched some amateur comedians and it was great. You don’t have to spend $60 on a ticket to see a big name comedian every time you want to laugh. You can support homegrown talent. By all means go and pay to see the comedy greats, but don’t underestimate the average Joe on stage either. Some of our homegrown comedians may have the best jokes in the world but if they don’t have people to listen we won’t know.”
Tait is just beginning his own venture into stand-up comedy. The self-confessed “attention whore”, who says he was a closet comedian for years, has had a handful of gigs so far and has already experienced a range of audience reactions, including one dreaded performance in Footscray.
“I can honestly say I faced the dreaded ‘bomb’ that no upcoming comedian wants to face. That was the real reality of comedy for me. Straight after the gig I was pretty gutted. Looking back on it now it was just another experience. My [next] gig was at an open mic night in Ballarat and I decided no matter the audience I was going to perform it like I do when I’m practising, and it worked a hell of a lot better. I really enjoyed that gig.”
The night kicks off at 8.30 p.m. and Tait has just one message for the punters: “Come down, have a few pots and enjoy some free comedy. The audience is well and truly getting a great show.”
When&Where: Aireys Pub – July 26
Written by Daniel Waight

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