Denis Carnahan: I've Playing For Years

Denis Carnahan is bringing his hilarious one man cult hit musical comedy show Cricket The Musical to Perth for the first time! Lisa & Russell chatted with Denis about the show, heckling and more. Catch the show at the State Theatre Centre.    

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Cricket the Musical. Yes, he's on at the State Theater
tomorrow and Thursday. Tickets are available through Cricket the Musical
dot com dot au. This is Dennis Canahan's show. What
can you tell us about it?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Dennis, Well, I can tell you Dannel. Timing is everything
and you've timed it beautifully.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah. I've just brought it into the eve of the Ashes.
I did the show last year and quite a few
Bamie Army people turned up, even though England weren't here,
and so I was just thinking that we need to
get Australians a bit more vibed up, a bit more
ready to sing along and boo the villains and cheer
the heroes when the ashes happened, so we can compete
with the Barmi Army. Although currently a few of them
are coming to the show. So I'm bracing myself today.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
There's going to be some serious heck doday, heckle Well.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
They Actually the feedback I got was they felt it
was a fair and balance show. I slapped both. I
should point out it's not really a proper musical. There's
no Todd McKenny and Lisa mcewne and later host up.
It's a one man show and it's a whole lot
of comic songs. That's the blast of it. Yes, and

(03:21):
so it is. The crowd is very much encouraged. The
sing along parts. They are encouraged to cheer and boo,
but the barmaie army boot different parts.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yes, Well, what was the spark that made you decide
to turn cricket controversies into a musical rather than just,
you know, say, a stand up show.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
It's just my way of dealing with it. I've been
a musician, playing, played up and down the East Coast.
I've never actually played in person. I'm very excited.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Okay, all right.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
I've been playing for years and it's just I wanted
to be a rock star. That was the plan. I
wanted to be a serious rock star. But people kept laughing,
so I just kind of went with that and that's
how it ended up.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
All Right, you get a laugh, I'll give you some lama.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, exactly, exactly the plan and it seems to work.
But it started a few years ago. I started writing
songs about rugby League and AFL and then Stuart Broad
refused to walk even though it was out in a
game in twenty thirteen and that led to a song
to the tune of the Drifters classic under the Broadwalk.
I reworked that as the why I didn't broadwalk and

(04:27):
YouTube that's had millions of hits, particularly in India. It
turns out because Indians are quite fond of cricket, seems yes.
Apparently when the English team came out, I think it
was about twenty thirteen or twenty twelve, they came out
and I just had to look through the list and
there's a bunch of South Africans and West Indians and
people from Zimbabwe and New Zealand and Ireland and it's

(04:47):
not really part of the English team. So I did
a song identifying where they were from and saying, well,
christ Church in New Zealand that's in England, and Kundiawa
Papua New Guinea that's in England as well. So I'll
do the section as the MCC pointing out how England
is actually everywhere.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Do you, Dennis, given that it's you know, you're doing
this musical during a cricketing season, do you have to
update the show as the season goes on? Do you
tweak it a little as to.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
The events absolutely. So I started doing it as a
sort of a off Broadway thing in twenty nineteen and
it's about half a dozen songs that have lasted because
they you know, one of the big songs in the
show is about Mitchell Johnson's The Stars.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
I was going to say that's going to be an evergreen.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
Really yeah, yeah, it is because that identify particularly with
the Ashes that catches win matches. Whatever it tashes that
win Ashes and Mitchell showed that when he grew that mustache.
You know, last year with the Indians coming out, there's
so much controversy their shoulder charge in Melbourne on the
young opener Costas and then the send off sending Travis

(05:56):
head off in Adelaide and you know, getting fine it was.
It does change. So this I'm expecting each ASHES test
is going to give me two or three new songs,
so to show that I do in Brisbane two weeks time,
that'll have songs out of Perth. The Adelaide showill have
songs out of Bridsbane, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
Because there's always at least one controversy or key moment.
Any predictions about what we might get during the Perth
test you.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
Don't want to death row people, but someone's going to
break down, like every first test, and there's always someone's
handstring goes because it is it is grueling five days.
No matter how much you warm up five days, you're
going to get cramps. You're going to push through the
cramps and that's going to turn into a strain. So
you know that's going to happen. I'm hoping that it's
not one of it's a poem. I think it's a poem. Yeah,

(06:42):
and also just that there is so much intrigue about
whether they go, and you know, I'm bracing myself the
horror might happen that Australia lose five mil Like, I
don't think it's going to happen, but if it does,
I'm trying to work out exactly I'm going to react
to that. Other than a whole little laments and tears.
The show is going to be miserable.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
It's going to be a very morbid song. It will.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
It will, and with a lament as you say, well,
at this stage, it won't. Cricket the Musical is on
at the State Theater tomorrow and Thursday. Tickets are through
Cricket the musical dot com dot au. Thanks for joining
US Stanners

Speaker 3 (07:10):
Thanksanner, Thanks for having me on