Unpack This

Time Out interrupted comedian Geoff Paine’s day at the beach to get the dirt on his Comedy Festival show, Unpack This. The former Neighbours star gave us the inside story while standing on the tow-bar of a Kombi (for better reception – of course).

Tell us the backstory behind Unpack This.
I assaulted a neighbour in 2008 and the judge said. "You're obviously not a threat to society, but you are an idiot," so he ordered me to attend an anger management course. When I got there I met some real characters, so of course, I got out the pen and started writing.

So the show is about people in an anger management course?
Yes, but it’s also about the two social workers, and the interplay between them. Bit by bit you discover there’s something else going on. The people who are meant to be teaching these guys how to manage anger can’t control their own. I really wanted to play with the PC language used in these courses too – you can’t have an opinion, you have to say "It’s my perception that…". It’s baffling!

You’ve got a little cast doing a lot of lifting: to begin with, you are the writer and you play three characters  – tell us more about the rest of your peeps!
Well there’s Ross Daniels who’s done a whole heap of stand-up and one man shows, he plays three characters as well, then there’s Michelle Nussey who was part of the Big Hoo Haa in Perth. She’s got two other shows in the Comedy Festival, so she’s either going to be really fit by the end of it or just really tired, and Syd Brisbane, who mastered the ocka alpha male in Coranderrk.

Has it taken a while to get the idea from script to stage?
It took a couple of years to finally get it on paper, and we showed it at the fringe festival last year. We had eight shows and it sold out, by the last night they had to add more chairs! This year we’ve added some new stuff and we’re at Chapel Off Chapel, which is a great venue.

Unpacking Unpack this:
(a comedy show in stats, according to Geoff)

Actors: 4
Characters: 8
Nights you have to catch the show: 14
Toasted sandwiches eaten each day during rehearsal: 5
Mistakes made per performance: 2.5 – but we’re getting better!