Pioneers of Australian contemporary comedy, Stephen ‘Sandman’ Abbott and Paul ‘Flacco’ Livingston will present their new show Forevelyn at the Laycock St Community Theatre next month.
The pair say they will exhume the scattered remains of their own characters in a touching tribute to themselves, the men behind themselves, and the two women behind the men behind themselves.
Combining stand-up comedy and sit-down musings, the comedians will share share stories, readings and revelations regarding their fictional creations and the never before revealed contribution of their deceased mothers, both named Evelyn.
Their alter egos, The Sandman and Flacco, will be on hand to offer their advice to their ageing creators.
Abbott and Livingston will also present original songs “trumpeting their slow demise into irrelevance and beyond”.
“We are two senior men with immature hearts looking back over why we turned out the way we did,” they said.
Although best known for his character The Sandman, Abbott was a founding member of The Castanet Club, a 10-piece comedy group which burst on to the scene at the Adelaide Festival in 1984 winning the inaugural Best of the Fringe Award.
Touring for six years in 1990 the Castanets made the feature film The Castanet Club, directed by Neil Armfield.
Abbott appeared from 1993 to 2000 on JJJ with his cult comic creation The Sandman, leading to regular appearances on Good News Week and The Fat – as well as three Flacco and Sandman comedy specials for Channel 10 – then hosting his own comedy variety series In Siberia Tonight for SBS TV.
There is much more to Livingston than his beloved character Flacco.
He received an AFI nomination for his dramatic acting in The Navigator, co-wrote the international success Happy Feet Two, and is the recipient of five AWGIE awards for his contributions to the top rating and long running Australian satirical television series Good News Week.
As Flacco, he has travelled internationally over many years sharing the stage with Lily Tomlin, Jerry Lewis, Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Steven Wright, Penn and Teller, and Drew Carey.
More recently, he has toured across Australia and internationally with the re-formed Doug Anthony Allstars.
He is also the author of six books, including D.A.A.S Their Part in My Downfall (Allen & Unwin), a personal memoir documenting 25 years of live performance supporting Australia’s most controversial comedy export The Doug Anthony Allstars.
Forevelyn will be at Laycock St Community Theatre on Saturday, June 17.
See the theatre’s website for bookings.
Terry Collins