Melbourne International Comedy Festival kicks off next week with plenty of hilarious acts performing, including Chris Demos. Returning for the fourth year, Chris is bringing his new show Chips in the Night to StoryVille in Melbourne’s CBD. We were lucky to grab five minutes with Chris to find out what we can expect from his show this comedy festival.
Your upcoming comedy show is called Chips In The Night, what brand & flavour of chips most resembles your show and why?
Because it’s night-time, we need to avoid reflux at all costs. So no salt and vinegar, and nothing too cheesy because lactose plus sleep equals nightmares. I’m saying Pringles. They’re tidy to eat, they’re neat in the way they stack, the packaging is fun, they’re technically a chip but also kind of not a chip, and the Pringles guy is cute. Much like the show: approachable, slightly confusing, and packaged very deliberately.
What or who made you fall in love with comedy?
Growing up in Melbourne, the Comedy Festival always felt huge — like something exciting was happening and I wanted in. My parents watched heaps of comedy, especially Working Dog stuff and Judith Lucy, and that just filtered down to me. I was way too young to understand Frontline, but I loved it anyway.
My sister was the same and because she’s older, she started going to stand-up and dragging me along. That’s how I ended up seeing people like Judith Lucy, Tig Notaro, Daniel Kitson, Sarah Silverman, Tim Key and Anne Edmonds, which fully locked it in for me.
If there was a show about your life and you had to cast anyone except for yourself, who would it be and why?
It makes no physical sense, but comedically I’d love Jane Krakowski or Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I feel like they’d get my… je ne sais quoi. They’re subtle, extremely funny, and great at making tiny moments hilarious.
What reality TV show would you most like to be apart of?
I live for reality TV, so this is cruel. I’d love to say Survivor but I know I wouldn’t last nearly as long as I think I would. Tabatha Takes Over would be a dream, but I don’t own anything for her to aggressively fix.
So I’m going with Below Deck Mediterranean. Ideally as Chief Steward, but honestly I’d settle for a guest — as long as Captain Sandy gets disappointed in me and then eventually, proud of me.
What inspired you to put on this show?
This is my third solo show. The first one felt like an introduction — my story and the jokes I’d written early on. The second was one long narrative, a big shaggy-dog story with lots of tangents. This year I just wanted to do what I want and what I think is funny. So Chips in the Night is 50 minutes of stand-up about the things I’m interested in, the stuff I think about when I’m awake at 3am on a Wednesday for no reason.
Catch Chris Demos: Chips in the Night at Melbourne International Comedy Festival at Storyville from 7th April – 19th April. Grab your tickets here.
