A barrel of laughs
Fresh off the back of the release of Double Parked Season Two and sold-out tours around Aotearoa and across the ditch, comedian Chris Parker will bring his one-man show to Queenstown this month. The show – Stop Being so Dramatic – is described as a spectacle that’s anything but chill.
Parker has many bows to his quiver – stand-up, author, podcaster, TV show creator and actor, just to name a few. His podcast, The Male Gayz, has been running for nearly a decade and he’s featured on 7 Days, Taskmaster NZ and Jono and Ben. He’s got a few projects on the go, with writing and stage performing his current passion, and this latest show is one of the results.
“It’s my classic style of very sweaty comedy – feverishly fast paced. I had someone come to my show once and say ‘I’ve never seen someone sweat from the crook of their arm before,’ I’m the only one in the comedy game brave enough to sweat from there,” Parker says.
Different from his other tours, Parker reckons this is his best one yet, describing it as personal and a rebellion against cringe. Growing up in Christchurch, he originally wanted to be a dancer and cut his teeth at theatre school, so you can certainly expect to see aspects of that flowing into the show, too. “I would say if you’ve done at least amateur dramatic production in your childhood this show is a must see!”
When discussing his recent escapades in Aus, Parker explains that there are so many Kiwis living across the ditch that he says the audience is almost identical to those here. The UK will be a different vibe though – he’s getting ready to head over for a busy few shows in their summer season, with one at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival and a few dates in London. He joined an improv theatre show, Snort, after he moved to Auckland with shows selling out every week, eventually making its way to Fringe.
“I performed over there in 2019 and I don’t think much has changed in the world since then… so imagine it will be the same.
"I feel very lucky to get to perform to so many people in London this time around. I’ve nearly sold the entire run out, and for that I have to solely thank Mark Zuckerberg and his app Instagram. It’s destroyed the fabric of society, but it’s been great for my ticket sales.”
On the more immediate horizon, Parker’s also looking forward to coming to Queenstown and taking in the sights.
“Walking around whimsically and taking photos of the mountains on my phone that I will never look back at. Why do we do that! I have so many photos of beautiful mountains on my phone, and I’m never looking at them.”
Beyond touring, Parker and his husband have recently rescued a dog, so he’s enjoying lots of small talk at the local dog park. He says he knows all the dog’s names, but will focus on learning all the human names when he gets back.
The show will be an unforgettable night of laughs with Parker diving into the drama queen allegations he’s been faced with his whole life, with stories of wit, and that signature charm of his.
And if you’re not too sure about heading to a comedy gig: “Be brave. “You can do it! I’m such a narcissist that I just talk for the entire hour, so there’s no crowd work, you won’t get picked on, you’re always safe at a Chris Parker show,” he says.
Chris Parker will bring Stop Being so Dramatic to Kinross on Friday, 18 July, at 6.30pm. There’s the option to add on a dinner and wine match, and transport to/from Queenstown or Arrowtown. Head to kinross.nz/blogs/events/chris-parker-stop-being-so-dramatic to book your tickets and for more information.
