The Offcut Talks To Comedian David Correos
His new show is like Taskmaster, but on steroids.
Let’s be honest: this time of year can suck. Easter is behind us, summer’s over, and Zendaya’s left Sydney for dead. But what’s that glimmer of hope I see on the horizon? Could it be… the Sydney Comedy Festival, kicking off on April 22, and featuring very funny comedian and man from New Zealand David Correos, who kindly agreed to speak to us? Yes, I think it might be!
David is probably most known for his killer performances on the NZ version of Taskmaster. Perhaps his magnum opus was when David was tasked with crafting a “diss track” for his competitors. In a performance that The Spinoff called “incendiary”, David’s performance went straight to 10: not only did his lyrics include mention of breaking a competitor's nose and running over a cat, he also threatened to drown someone in their own blood. And all this while clutching a bowl of hot spaghetti. It’s called being at the top of your game!
That’s because while David might seem like a fresh face to some, he’s been a high-achieving comic for almost a decade, winning a comic originality award in 2015 and New Zealand’s Billy T award in 2016. He tells The Offcut that his new show, ‘I Can’t Stop Vibrating’, is both “chaotic” and “a bit messy”, and comes peppered with his unique brand of physical humour. “It’s a mixture of my best stand-up and some of the more like, stunts, that I do on stage,” he says. “If you liked me on Taskmaster, you’ll like the show. You’re just hanging out with me for an hour.”
If the thought of a New Zealander doing comedy by himself is too confronting, David is also doing a double bill with Australian comic Demi Lardner. The comic describes the show as “pretty crazy”, and I for one believe him – I saw this very duo perform at the Sydney Fringe Festival two years ago, and distinctly recall losing my grip on reality. In a good way, obviously.
“It’s just pure chaos. It’s a lot of sketch, a lot of big stupid ideas, but we love it,” David says of the show, which will play at the Factory Theatre for the first five nights of May. “Her brain, it’s so fast. And when I get to see it in action it’s so inspiring to be around.”
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The show isn’t for the faint hearted, with David occasionally attracting a… well, eclectic group of people. During one of his recent shows, he realised that a bunch of grandparents were sitting shell-shocked in the audience. Quickly, his thoughts turned to death. Relatable! “I do think about heart attacks,” he told us. “ I do not want to kill someone during my show.”
So, if you do decide to bring your elderly relatives along for a wild night out, make sure to pack their heart medication.
David Correos’ ‘I Can’t Stop Vibrating’ plays at the Factory Theatre 24-28 April and David Correos x Demi Lardner plays at the Fusebox Factory Theatre 1-5 May.