Comedy and opera collide

by Bonnie Collings
Australian comedy legend Colin Lane and opera superstar David Hobson will perform their hilariously unique show "In Tails" at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Friday July 5.
"In Tails" is a collision of the comedy and opera worlds, resulting in two hours of incredible entertainment. David said the show was born out of the pairs' mutual interest in each other's careers and long time friendship.
"The basic premise (of the show) is that that Colin and I have been friends for around 30 years," David said.
"Colin being a great comedian and I being in the world of opera, over time we've talked about ideas that we share. I've got a great love of comedy, Colin's got a really good voice we thought, it be great if we put these two disciplines together and see what it would be like if I did some comedy and Colin sang some opera."
David said the show followed the journey of each artist learning the other's skillset.
"It's basically Colin learning about opera, me learning about comedy," David said.
"There's a lot of singing, routines and dancing. There will be songs and arias that people love but also some pop songs and musical theatre. For me, it's probably one of the most enjoyable things that I've done in my career."
While the pair wouldn't give away too much of the show's storyline, David and Colin promised audiences would be "delighted".
"The great thing is, audiences have been delighted by the show," David said. "We get a proportion of Colin's audience and my audience and they're not really sure what the show is but we've been really enthused by their reaction."
Colin said rather than sitting at home guessing about what the show will look like, people should get online and book tickets.
"We're only going to be in Warragul for one night it's not like we're on Netflix for one night, so come along and see two hours of fantastic singing and comedy."
Watching David perform as an opera singer for many years, Colin said he'd developed a fascination for the mechanics and discipline of opera.
"It's a completely different disciple to comedy," Colin said. "I don't think I'd ever want to sing opera in a full-scale production, but I am very fascinated in the technique and the grandiose storytelling."
Similar to Colin, David said while he didn't want to become a comedian, performing "In Tails" provided him the perfect opportunity to explore his love for comedy.
"Being able to be on stage with Colin, I revel in that," David said. "I think it's absolutely fantastic and I learn so much every night."
Colin said learning the techniques of opera singing however, had been a challenge.
"It's been difficult," Colin said.
"My quest in the show is to sing an aria with David, and sing a pretty famous piece that he has sung in the past. Spoiler alert, I do get to sing some opera with David, and standing next to him it never fails to impress me, the sound that comes out of his head."
Compared to a rehearsed and well known opera performance, David said a challenge of learning the tricks of comedy is the need for spontaneity.
"In opera, it's like you've got a road map, it's already laid out in front of you," David said.
"You know what you have to do, you have to learn the music and there's traditions and disciplines that you must adhere to, to make sure that you hit the right mark and then put a little bit of your own personality on top of that. But in comedy, you can spend hours and hours just hanging around with no foreseeable outcomes, and that's how you come up with ideas. Then when you get on stage it's all about being spontaneous. You can't do that in opera and I'm loving learning all that."
Donning their formal top hats and tails for the performance, Colin said his outfit has some special memories attached to it.
"I'm wearing David's father's tails, which is quite glorious," Colin said.
"It's a real pleasure to be wearing those tails every night and I hope I'm doing him credit."
Though he couldn't pinpoint one favourite moment from the show, David said the moment a joke lands with the audience is always satisfying.
"When a joke lands, it's so satisfying," he said. "The feeling that what we've done has created enjoyment for the audience, it's a great medicine."
"In Tails" has toured all around the country, visiting both major cities and regional venues. David and Colin said they're looking forward to taking the Arts Centre stage, and meeting their West Gippsland audience.
"I think it's a real privilege to be able to go to regional places and have people come and see you." David said. "Colin and I really love exploring places that perhaps we wouldn't normally go."
Colin and David said the show had something for all audiences, whether you're a comedy fan or an opera appreciator.
"There's enough Lano and Woodley style jokes to appeal to a younger audience and there's enough sophisticated music and entertainment for the older crew," Colin said.
"In Tails" will perform at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Friday July 5 at 7:30pm.
Tickets are available to purchase online at sales.wgac.com.au