×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Laugh out loud with Guy Montgomery

Last Updated 14 November 2018, 03:23 IST

Five years ago Guy Montgomery never would have believed he’d be making it as a comedian overseas.

The New Zealander was once too shy to perform in front of fellow comedians, now he’s hoping his material will get Indian audiences laughing.

He’s part of a contingent of comedians from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which is touring India for a month.

Using anecdotes and observations about life, he says his first few gigs in India have been well-received so far — but he admits he has had to slow down his delivery.

“I was curious to see if I’d be standing on stage to abject silence, thankfully it looks like that’s not the case,” Guy says.

Guy has been working in comedy for about seven years, starting out at Canadian open mic nights because he was too embarrassed to perform for his New Zealand friends.

That fear of humiliation soon disappeared and he has built a career in television writing and stand up shows. “I originally started because I thought I was funny and I wanted to see if I could turn that into a career.”

Taking his work internationally, like to the Melbourne Comedy Festival, was “the next logical step” and Guy has been a regular there for a few years.

He is also known for co-hosting The Worst Idea Of All Time podcast, where he and fellow comedian Tim Batt watched and reviewed the same movie every week. It’s spanned three seasons and reached more than 10 million downloads worldwide, but, while his voice might be familiar to some, he says he isn’t recognisable in India.

“People stop me on the street to take photos because I’m a lanky white guy, but I like to imagine it’s because of my accomplishments,” he says.

Now living and working in New York, he says getting to travel to India as a comedian is a highlight of his career. No matter if it’s Hindi or English, Guy says comedy is an international language and he hopes his stories about social media and moving overseas will get people laughing.

He’s also enjoying getting to explore India and sample its food.

“It’s been amazing. It’s like a movie that gets incredibly hyped before you get to the cinema and you’re not going to believe it’s good. This is unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited, the density and the constant soundtrack of beats. It’s truly been so cool,” he says.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 13 November 2018, 11:43 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT