Full Transcript for Randy Feltface Performs Stand-Up Show 'Gimmick' at The Thebarton Theatre in 2027

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Critically acclaimed comedian Randy Feldface is bringing his new show, Gimmick, to Adelaide to the much-loved Thebby Theatre on Monday, the 15th of February next year. But you've got to get your tickets now because this will sell out. tegdainty.com is where you go. He joins me from Los Angeles. Randy, lovely to have you on. 00:00:21 Speaker 2: Leif, it's an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on today for a little chat. 00:00:26 Speaker 1: What are you doing in the City of Angels? 00:00:28 Speaker 2: I'm about to start three months of nonstop US touring. This will be the last leg of the US tour before I bring the gimmick world tour home to Australia to wrap this tour up. Saving the best till last, my friend. 00:00:42 Speaker 1: Well done. Tell us about gimmick because that's the commentary, hasn't it, for your career. There are some who think you are just a gimmick. 00:00:50 Speaker 2: Look, you know what? I've been accused of that many times, and I've decided at this point in my career to lean into it. So literally everything in this show is a gimmick. Last time I brought a show to Adelaide, I think, and I don't want to speak out of turn, but I think it was my favorite show of the tour. The crowd were unbelievable, and I think this show might be my favorite ever show that I've made. So I think that people of Adelaide are going to love it. It's a hark back. to the old days of me schlepping around the garden of my unearthly delights with muddy feet and a dream in my heart. 00:01:30 Speaker 1: You know, the audiences of Adelaide, you know what Fringe Time is like. We never, ever thought you were a gimmick. Was it industry people? Was it people not believing in you? Was it people who were sort of maybe cautious as audience members who thought, well, this is just a gimmick? 00:01:45 Speaker 2: I mean, I look at my face, you know, have a good hard look at my face. I'm a unique looking figure on the stand-up comedy circuit. And to be honest, everybody needs a gimmick. I'm not saying gimmicks are bad. I love a gimmick. But the thing that I am, the little bee in my bonnet is the modern day gimmick. I love an old school gimmick. Give me a trapeze artist juggling a chainsaw any day of the week. Modern day gimmicks, these reality television programs, you know what I mean? Celebrities constantly doing game shows. Had enough of that business. Had enough of that business. Get back on the trapeze, learn how to juggle a chainsaw and stop wasting my time. 00:02:31 Speaker 1: Do you know what we had here recently, Randy, at the Adelaide show? We had a human cannonball. Now that's a gimmick. That's what you're after. 00:02:38 Speaker 2: Every day. Love a human cannonball. Anybody who's willing to be shot out of a cannon or anyone who's willing to be shot with a cannonball. Classic sideshow act. Love that. 00:02:48 Speaker 1: Isn't it funny how worked up people get, how triggered people get, whether you're a gimmick, whether they think you're a novelty? What about just enjoying it, Randy? Where have those people gone? 00:03:00 Speaker 2: I think they're there. I think they are ready. They are ready to re-embrace the classic old school gimmick. The people who enjoy the gimmicks, what is this, the guilty pleasure, the sit back. My favourite shows are watching people do stuff and making it look effortless but then realising it took them an entire lifetime to develop a single act. That's my jam. I love that. And I think audiences love that too. That's why I'm doing this show. This show is like Everything in this show is there's visuals, there's dancing, there's my face, et cetera. Tick, tick. So rather than. 00:03:42 Speaker 1: Fight it, you've embraced it, Randy, is what you're telling me. 00:03:45 Speaker 2: That is correct. I'm leaning into it. I've got nothing against the gimmick. I think it's time we all just admit that that's where entertainment is going. Get rid of the AI, get old school about it. 00:03:55 Speaker 1: Are you someone who's reflective? Like you're 21 years in the industry now. You're a veteran. You've won majority of people over. There might be one or two tools in the audience, but that's common. 21 years, Randy. 00:04:07 Speaker 2: I'm not for everyone. I've accepted that. I've managed to find my niche. Persistence. Leif, it's all about persistence. I've just managed to stick around for long enough. I'm not dead. I think that's the best thing you can say about me at this point in my career. He's not dead yet. 00:04:24 Speaker 1: Which is terrific. 00:04:24 Speaker 2: That's really it. It's staying power. 00:04:27 Speaker 1: Let's talk about your career because it's quite the journey, right? From stand-up to sold-out theatres, independent releases to Netflix, BBC Radio to YouTube specials. I mean, what on earth, Randy? What a trajectory. 00:04:43 Speaker 2: Thank you. Yes, it has just been, it's really just been my career. I mean, I once described it as falling down a set of stairs without managing, without spilling my beer. That's really my career, just going, oh, meant that. That's kind of what it's been like. But it's actually all about, for me, just doing the next fun thing. So this show, when I sat down to write this show, because believe it or not, I write things down. When I sat down to write this show, I was like, what? do I want to get the maximum amount of joy out of every night on stage? And it's not always been the case. I mean, you list off the career. A lot of that has just been, well, my God, I've got to do another thing. I can't stop ever working ever. Whereas now I'm at a point in my career where if there's any reflectiveness, it's going, if I'm going to do this, I want to absolutely love every second of it. So that's what this show is. 00:05:40 Speaker 1: Do you see yourself as a puppet artist? Were there puppets that you grew up, Randy, looking towards and looking up to? 00:05:48 Speaker 2: Absolutely. I wouldn't call myself a pioneer