Simon Taylor’s Australian Brand of Fun

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Photo Via Simon Taylor - Facebook

Simon Taylor

Should Australians accommodate American idioms in their use of the English language we share? Comedian Simon Taylor sees no need to do so. 

“I used to try to write different material for different countries,” observes Taylor, who spends about half of his time in the States with his Kentuckian wife and their son, “but over time I realized that people like learning about other cultures through stand-up.” For example, “I had a routine where I talked about getting a flat tire and needing the carjack from ‘the boot.’ In America, I would change it to trunk, but after a while I figured that if I stuck with the Australian, the U.S. audiences could understand from context anyway; and I think they got a kick out of hearing how we say it. It's more fun that way, I think.”

Taylor is primed to let Milwaukee in on his brand of fun over the course of three shows on Friday Jan. 12 and Saturday Jan. 13 at The Laughing Tap. And though he may stick to Australian English in his bits, the manner in which he performs takes inspiration from much of the Western world. 

Storytelling Style

“I think my standup is a Frankenstein of Australian, European and American comedy styles,” Taylor notes.  To break it all down he adds, “Australia, or at least in Melbourne, we have a storytelling style of comedy, where we can tell one anecdote for 10 or 20 minutes with lots of little gags throughout. The European style is more focused on being self-deprecating and playful with language. And the American style has a strong history of putting your personal worldview into your jokes. So, I’m a big mix of all of that.” 

It was his moxie born of not knowing how big a deal a certain U.S. late night show was that allowed Taylor to get his antipodal worldview onto American TV. And Taylor’s recollection comes off like an example of the Aussie humor he cites, but with the punchline being a major career break.

“Before I went on a trip to LA when I was 24, I had never seen an episode of “The Tonight Show,” Taylor recalls. “It didn’t air in Australia when I was growing up. It’s crazy to think that it was a cultural institution in the States but had no real significance to other countries. Maybe that’s why I was so relaxed when I got to meet Jay Leno, because I didn’t know what the heck I was getting into.”

Taylor’s international adventure came near his start in comedy. But let him continue: “At the time, I had just started doing stand-up, so I thought it would be cool to do a gig while I was there. I got a five-minute, unpaid gig at a little comic bookstore in LA. Maybe 80 people were there, but one of them happened to be a producer for ‘The Tonight Show.’ He said I should come to the show and meet Jay Leno, which I did. When I met Jay, I made some smart aleck comment like ‘Pfft, I could write for this show.’ And to Jay’s credit, he laughed and said ‘OK, we’ll get an Australian perspective.’ The next day I had a contract.” 

Improbable Ascent

If Taylor’s account reads like an improbable start to his ascent to U.S. notoriety, it was preceded by a nigh lifelong immersion in comedy. Agreeing to digitize his parents’ home videos, though enough of a pain for Taylor to deem it a “full-time job,” has commenced a memory lane journey whereby he has had occasion to better recall his comedic roots. 

"I’ve gotten to see myself as a kid and it’s obvious I was a clown from the get-go,” he surmises. “I used to do funny Elvis impersonations when I was five. I was always in the school theater group, being a goofball. I think my parents recognized I was a performer because my dad would buy comedy albums on CD for me to listen to." 

All of Taylor’s clowning around has been paying off, but not without adjusting between two significantly comedy cultures. Because there are so few Australian comics an earn a living touring, “we will do a two-to-four-week season in each city,” he says. “For example, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival allows me to put on 21 shows over the course of a month. I do the same show for that whole month, and then the next year I come back with a brand-new hour of material. What this means is that I usually tour Australia from Feb to April, then I can tour the States and Europe the rest of the year.” An element of Aussie comedy fests presents Taylor with a recommendation for their US counterparts as well.  

“I’d love to see more towns in the States do open comedy festivals like us, where anyone can register,” he continues. “You just find your own venue, pay the registration fee, and put on a show! You're not relying on any gatekeepers to 'book' you to do a show, you can just produce one yourself and find a crowd.” As his notoriety has grown, Taylor need not take that approach any longer. But should his humor ever fail him, he may already have another avenue for income thanks to how he now assists his wife in order to crack wise about their marriage. 

“My wife is a brilliant artist, and we have an agreement that she’s allowed to paint nude portraits of me for her art, and I’m allowed to make jokes about our relationship. It’s a good deal.” 

As he explores the recurrent theme in his comedy of finding his identity and his gift impersonations, here Taylor reminisces over the cool ethnic accents of his school friends and employing one such speech variation to secure a deal on car repair ...