The Listies Ruin Xmas is an uproarious take on the holiday panto. Its mission? To make families laugh as much as possible in 55 minutes.
A few years ago Rich and Matt decided to shake up the world of kids comedy, and The Listies were born. Since then they have become Australia’s most sought-after family comedians.
Hilarious, messy and decidedly insane, The Listies have sold out shows all over Australia, NZ and the UK. They were such a hit with northern rivers audiences when they performed their show The Listies Make you LOL! earlier in the year, NORPA have invited them back to perform The Listies Ruin Xmas.
What is it about The Listies that appeals so much to kids?
We could say that it’s the fact that our shows are fast paced, unpatronising and jam packed with pop culture references OR we could say that our shows use the tried-and-tested traditions of vaudeville, OR we could even say that our ‘straight guy versus funny guy’ comedic clown tradition calls to mind comic greats such as Laurel and Hardy, Lano and Woodley, Bert and Ernie – but all of those would be a lie. It’s the really the fart jokes.
How do you work up new shows?
I wish we had a unique answer to this question but I’m afraid we work up our shows the same way that all other comedians do, hard work, lots of rehearsals and as many funny YouTube videos as we can fit in between.
How did you approach Xmas? Aren’t Xmas shows just done to death? How did you make yours fresh?
With poo emojis, inflatable Santa suits and A LOT of mess.
Can kids comedy actually be funny? How do you get over the cringe factor?
What a difficult question… We decided to sit down and have a little think about this while we watched some Muppets, and then some Pixar films and then some Lano & Woodley and then some Sponge Bob Square Pants and then some Ren and Stimpy and then some Simpsons… and then ended up laughing so much we needed to take a nap. What was the question again?
What are the challenges in working with children?
Kids have really short attention spans but luckily so do w… oh look – a bunny!
What’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened at one of your shows?
Kids are so bonkers that we always have strange things happening in our shows, random stage invasions, surreal answers to questions, sympathetic vomiting and pants-wetting (mainly by us!). Once Nicole Kidman came to see our show – that was pretty weird.
What should we expect for your upcoming show in Lismore?
People should expect to LOL (laugh out loud) and ROTFL (roll on the floor laughing) and maybe even ROTFLSHALBOWCO (roll on the floor laughing so hard a little bit of wee comes out).
The Listies Ruin Xmas, Saturday 26 November, 2pm at NORPA, Lismore City Hall.
Recommended for 6+ years and their families. 55 minutes (no interval).
Special bonus: Guest starring an Emoji Poo as ‘Rudolph’s Droppings’. Oh… and meet The Listies after the show! Tickets: $22–30. Bookings: www.norpa.org.au or 1300 066 772
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