Anh Do
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Anh Do

Anh Do is about to embark on a regional tour of Australia with his highly acclaimed stand-up show, The Happiest Refugee. However, if you have read his 2010 novel about his family’s journey to Australia, you will know that it was far from a happy one. After being attacked by pirates and having his life in jeopardy, Anh has gone on to become a household name within the comedy circuit.
“My uncle and my father fought amongst Aussie soldiers in the war, and so after the war my uncle’s life was in danger and we had to flee Vietnam. 40 of us get on a nine metre fishing boat and we were crammed in like sardines. The thing is, when you leave your country, you sell everything you own and you buy the international currency. On the fourth day of our voyage we got attacked by pirates who were after all the personal belongings of people on the boat. One of the pirates ripped one of the nappies of one of the babies and a sliver of gold fell out. He thought we were hiding it, and so he dangled the baby overboard and threatened to throw him in the ocean,” Anh says.
“It was quite a harrowing experience, nine pirates, 30 refugees and a kid dangling over the ocean. The pirate spared the kids life, which is lucky cause that kid was my brother, Khoa, who is a film director now. Khoa was the young Australian of the year in 2005, so mum’s got a son that was an Australian of the year, and another that does all the silly stuff on the side.”
The success of the stage show has been incredibly positive, with critics and audiences alike saying that the show made them both laugh and cry due to Do’s life experiences. Having presented travel shows on Channel 7 with specials on Vietnam, Britian, Scandinavia and Iceland, to name just a few, talking about the new series on Italy, he was quick to learn from a local about how to cook the best barbecued chicken.
“I love doing those TV shows – it’s a dream come true. Channel 7 send me around the world and I get to meet all these amazing and interesting people. I went to this beach that was next to this active volcano, the guy showing me around digs a hole a metre into the ground with a shovel and it’s nearly 100 degrees down there. He drops a chicken wrapped in tinfoil down there and covers it with sand. We came back after an hour of sight seeing to perfectly barbecued chicken. Beautifully cooked and we just took it out of the sand and ate it. It’s all you need for perfect chicken every time, a volcano and a really hot beach,” he adds with a laugh.
Talking about the success of his career, the simple things in life such as being recognised in the street offer the best material for Do’s stand up show. “ This lady approached me in the street the other day and said, ‘It’s you! You are my son’s favourite person in the whole world, can he have your autograph?’ So I’m signing this autograph for this little 4-year-old, and the mother says, ‘You’re Jeff From the Wiggles!’ I didn’t want to let him down, so I ripped off the bit that said Anh Do and signed it Jeff Wiggle. Is it bad that I gave him a fraudulent Jeff Wiggle autograph? If that ends up on Ebay that kid is going to get arrested and it’s going to be my fault,” Do laughs.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Anh’s stories, so be sure to head along to his Geelong and Warrnambool shows for a great night of laughs and tales from a true Australian comedy legend.
When & Where: The Palms at Crown, Melbourne – May 28 & 29, Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool – May 30, GPAC, Geelong – May 31 & Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo – June 25
Written by Tex Miller

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