Comedian and self described “unhinged homosexual” Andy Balloch is bringing his award-winning show to Fringe World 2025.
Am I The Drama? is a sketch comedy show that takes audiences on a whirlwind journey through the queer experience from the 1990s to today.
Staring down the rise of anti-LGBTIQA+ sentiment around the world, Andy takes on the tough subjects in this hilarious, absurd and fast-paced performance loaded with original characters – such as Harry from Love Island, who “just wants to fuck the pool jets”.
We caught up with Andy to find out what’s going on inside his head.
Tell us about your history of advocacy and writing about queer rights! How did that transform into taking centre stage?
It actually started the other way around. I’ve been the center of attention for as long as I can remember. The very embodiment of telling your child they can be anything they want and watching them choose “in the spotlight”.
I was a child actor and an adult improviser (same thing) and it slowly became more and more clear that I wanted my comedy to be unashamedly queer and have something to say.
I love comedy that has a mix of heart and intelligence, and my gay audacity said “I can do that!”
The show covers the queer experience from the 90s to now. How would describe the change?
Things have changed massively in the queer community since the 90s. I mean, being gay isn’t illegal in parts of Australia anymore, and queer men aren’t dying of AIDS-related illness at anywhere near the same rates. In fact, Australia is on track to end new HIV infections by 2030!
We’ve got much more freedom and visibility, but with that comes a bigger target on our backs, unfortunately.
Also I’m not chugging back bottle after bottle of Passion Pop in a local park anymore which, I think we can all agree, is a nice change.
You’re tackling some big issues here – what draws you to exploring these things through comedy?
I think comedy is the perfect vehicle to explore big issues through: it’s the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down! And sometimes, the medicine is particularly bitter.
It’s also infinitely more fun than screaming at an audience for an hour (and my therapist has told me many times, that’s both not a good idea, nor does it count as a “free session”).
It sounds like you take on quite a few characters in this show – who can audiences expect to meet?
When I first started writing this show, I thought to myself “Hey Andy, let’s write a comedy show as though Robin Williams’ character of the Genie in Aladdin had created a show – lots of quick characters and sketches”.
I thought maybe I’ll play, like, ten characters… at last count, it’s closer to 30. It turns out this is a great show if you have, oh I don’t know, an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder.
There’s a demon, a witch, a Playschool spoof, a current affair host and everything in between. If nothing else, come for the chaos!
So… ARE you the drama? Or will we have to wait and see?
Oh, I am definitely the drama, but the fun is in finding out exactly how and why!
Am I The Drama? runs from 10 – 16 February at The Rechabite’s Goodwill Club. For more, head to fringeworld.com.au
