It worked for Vincent Van Gogh, albeit it with a depressingly long lag factor for the troubled artist, and it worked for notorious Aussie criminal-turned-media celebrity Mark Brandon ‘Chopper’ Read, who cut off his ears in prison, or rather had them sliced off for him.
‘Chopper’ is now a well-loved ‘old’ character for comedian Heath Franklin and he’s doing a special encore performance of his Sydney Comedy Festival Show at The Sydney Comedy Store this weekend.
Rather than parodying the man himself – although, the extremes and contradictions of a guy who’s spent most of his life behind bars for violent offences including, according to legend, armed robbery, torturing drug dealers, and the odd spot of murder, too, provide no shortage of material – Franklin looks to Eric Bana’s portrayal of Read in Andrew Dominik’s 2000 movie Chopper for inspiration for his take on the Aussie hardman.
When: 2 Aug
Where: The Comedy Store Sydney, Moore Park 2021
Cost: $35
