MICF- Kate McCartney & Kate McLennan In Konversation

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is currently in full swing and this afternoon at the Comedy Theatre I attended the Q&A Kate McCartney & Kate McLennan In Konversation, which was facilitated by Benjamin Law. The Kates have worked in comedy for years and are best known for their mock cooking series The Katering Show and Get Krack!n, their satire of morning talk shows.

During this hour long discussion we got a peak behind the scenes as they discussed their creative process for writing their shows. After having seen one of their Get Krack!n characters, Helen Bidou (Anne Edmonds) live last night in her own comedy festival show, they joked how depressing it was to see something you've be created be taken further and funnier than you ever imagined. In the era of #MeToo they emphasised the importance of having a diverse writing room so that one person is not having to represent their entire gender/race, and ensuring that things were safe and fun on set for cast and crew. From a casting perspective they said they are committed to diversity and actively try not to cast white people unless it's needed for the punchline of the joke to work.

They showed a clip of once of the most daring bits from this past season of Get Krack!n, which was an Aboriginal man getting the Kates to "eat my black shit for reconciliation." They also discussed the filming of the infamous Katering Show episode that featured Kate McLennan's actual placenta (but thankfully they did not cook it or eat it). It was an insightful hour listening to two of Australia's great comedic voices, and will be interesting to see what they create next.