Bird-Brain Comic Rhys Darby All in a Flap
New Zealander Rhys Darby believes he was a bird in a former life and it’s this premise that forms the basis for his new live show, Mystic Time Bird, which is on at Perth’s Astor Theatre on 25 August.
Darby came to the conclusion while working in Hawaii last year on the film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle but said it helped to explain a lot.
“It is based on an actual happening that happened to me in Hawaii when I went off the rails a bit and decided to seek help because my mum passed away and I kind of didn’t know where I was going,” the Los Angeles-based comedian explained while on tour in Auckland.
“My comedy was really for her and now that’s she’s gone, I kind of felt like ‘Why am I doing this?’
“So I wanted to get some advice, insight as to which direction I should go with my life.”
Darby, 43, said he had a session with “a guy who was basically like a shaman character” who asked him what about him was unique and he told him he could do weird sound effects and always mimics things.
“He said he believed this was the first time I had lived as a human and that kind of made sense as well because I had this unique, kind of hopeful optimism about me that I had trouble explaining. He believed that was because I hadn’t been this before. And so you will live again and that gave me happiness that maybe I will see my mother again, and maybe she is something else.
“It sounds really wanky I know but it all comes together in a nice heartfelt comedy show that makes sense and also looks ridiculous when I am on stage flapping my arms about.”
One of the characters audiences will get to meet is Bill Napier.
“He is my ranger character, he comes out before the show and he talks about Rhys, talks about touring with him and he is actually my security guy so he is quite bizarre,” Darby said.
“He is really, really unnecessary but he insists on travelling with me.”
The Jumanji reboot is due for release in December.
Original article by Sue Yeap, The West Australian, August 15, 2017.
