My name is Mitch Alexander, and I’m bringing across the UK show “Stand Up Philosophy” for two nights at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Stand Up Philosophy teams the funniest comedians with the smartest philosophers to lecture, joke, pontificate and ruminate on a different topic each show. Each performer has about twenty minutes to present whatever they feel is most relevant and interesting for the crowd, with an audience Q&A, involving both comedians and academics, to end the night.
The show is a great way to get philosophy in front of people who might not normally be interested, as well as presenting it in a more approachable and light-hearted (though still respectful) way. At the same time, philosophy enthusiasts are very rarely catered for outside of the serious lecture or conference – it’s not all dour beard stroking!
The two themes for the Melbourne Comedy Festival are
- “Sexbots And Self Driving Cars: Autonomy, AI and Ethic” and
- “Love, Life, And Loss.”
The themes are kept somewhat vague to allow myriad different opinions and arguments, and to ensure that no one feels stymied for their performance.
So far the line ups include comedians Corey White (ABC, Best Newcomer MICF 2015) Alice Fraser (BBC, The Bugle, multiple 5 star reviews), Kirsty Webeck, Martin Dunlop and Lauren Bok, and philosophers such as Prof Robert Sparrow, Prof Suzy Killmister and Prof Oisin Deary.
The two shows take place at 08:30pm at The Spotted Mallard on Sydney Rd, Brunswick, on the 29th of March and the 12th of April respectively.
Ticketing link: www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/stand-up-philosophy/101512
Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/2010649419149386/