Talking Cocks
Simon Morley is a self-made man. Literally. Twenty years ago, Simon decided to live the dream and get paid to play with his penis. And be asked to tour the world. And have women come to pay and watch. And laugh. A lot.
‘Women just get it,’ says Simon of Puppetry of the Penis – the world famous theatre show where two men make strange objects with their genitalia.
‘For me that’s the wonderful thing about doing the show. We stand there and get the hilarity of how they react to the show. You literally see them slipping out of their chairs.’
Morley made secret men’s business not so secret. ‘It’s about putting male genitalia in its flaccid form on a screen three storeys high and just having a laugh. Women love it because if they did it at home they’d crush their partner’s ego. Here, it’s all about having a laugh. I think its very healthy!’
‘Men have a lot of hang ups – serious ones – about their cocks. The amount of times you walk into the toilet and you see someone who is a bit hung up and you want to give them a cuddle and say, mate, what’s wrong with your cock?’
The secret of the show’s success is that there is absolutely NO sexual innuendo. Apart from the actual penis, the show is squeaky clean!
Puppetry of the Penis were really ahead of their time. ‘We were doing them way before they were a thing,’ laughs Morley, who admits that the show was created so that he could sell the calendars he had made. ‘I met Friendy (the other co-creator) at the Rails in Byron three years before we ever had an idea for the show. I wanted to sell calendars. I thought my brother Justin would join in. My first three shows sold out, and Justin got a job on Neighbours, so Friendy called up and said ‘Who are you doing the show with?’ I said, ‘What are you doing Thursday?’
And that’s how they started, taking the Tackle Happy tour from pup to pub in a Kombi van. Next minute, they’re performing in the West End of London, with their penis projection the size of a small building!
This time Morley takes to the stage in clothes. ‘It took me a while to get comfortable being on stage totally clothed. My show Naked Ambition, which I just performed in Edinburgh, is kind of a comedy TED talk with a lot of cock in it’. It’s the show that tells the story, with all the funny mishaps and adventures along the way.
Of course Simon will do a few tricks. There’s no way he’ll resist the thrill of showing a few of his fave moves!
Simon performs Naked Ambition at the Byron Services Club on Monday 25 March and Tuesday 26 March at 8pm. Both shows $25 at 8pm, tix online at mandynolan.com.au or at the door.