A Quick Chat With Sarah Gaul from Slumberland at the Sydney Fringe

Sarah Gaul, one of Australia’s most exciting emerging comediennes, has taken her successful one-woman shows to Melbourne Comedy Festival, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival and Sydney Fringe Festival. Sarah won ‘Most Outstanding New Cabaret Work’ for her original piece Good Grief in the 2012 Melbourne Short and Sweet Cabaret.

Sarah Gaul, Slumberland
Sarah Gaul, Slumberland

AussieTheatre.com caught up with Sarah for a quick chat before she takes to the Sydney Fringe stage with her brand new all-original show Slumberland.

A Quick Chat With…

What’s your name and what do you do?
I’m Sarah Gaul, I’m a Musical Comedienne.

What’s your most underrated or unknown talent?
I can find someone online with barely any information. I once found a guy on Facebook with the only his first name and the country he’s from.

What makes you laugh?
Dumb dog videos on the internet. Dogs are such idiots. Also Amy Schumer. She is great.

What are you reading?
Amy Poehlers ‘Please Like Me’ for about the third time. It’s kind of a Bible for female comedians or female humans in general.

Who is your role model?
My dog, Patch, who passed away a little while back. He used to just lie at home in the sun and then get up whenever he wants to eat and then bark a bit and then lie down again and that was his entire day. I wish I had the courage to live a life that simple.

The world needs more…
Cafes with large breakfast servings. Seriously if I wanted to pay $20 for a small piece of toast and half an egg I could just burn a $20 note and eat at home.

The world needs less…
Small breakfasts.

What tools do you need to be creative?
For me – a piano, nice room to write in, but mostly importantly, awesome, inspiring, funny people around me.

What’s your happy place?
The walk along Bar Beach in Newcastle, where my parents live. Or Three Williams, a café in Redfern. Phenomenal food and coffee, and the staff rule. I just go there for hours and sit and write.

Which show (other than your own) you think people should drop everything and see?
Under Milk Wood at the New Theatre, 14th – 20th September (full disclosure: I may be producing this show). Dylan Thomas’ original radio play is so beautiful and the cast, director and designer have done some pretty amazing stuff in this adaption.

What was the last piece of theatre/film/TV that really left an impression on you?
I watched Blackfish, a doco about killer whales in Seaworld, a couple of months back, and I keep thinking about it. Keeping animals that huge and smart in captivity to sell tickets to a theme park seems absolutely nuts. It’s also a really moving, well-made documentary that has actually had a hugely positive impact in the real world as well.

There isn’t enough art about …
Breakfast.

What three things can’t you live without?
See if I was paid to advertise stuff this is where I would name drop brand names of like face creams or multivitamins. But in the absence of that, I straight up can’t live without food, cleaning drinking water and a safe place to sleep.

Go-to shower belting song?
‘One Day More’ from Les Miserables. I sing all the parts.

If you could change one thing about the Australian theatre industry, what would that be?
More funding and more platforms for new, original Australian work – Hayes Theatre company, for example, do great work with original writing. More of that please.

What’s the most used app on your phone?
Menulog. 100%.

What do you wish you had been told before starting in this industry?
The performing comedy gets easier the more you do it, and bad reviews don’t matter even though they suck.

What are you addicted to?
Avocadoes.

What city do you live in and why?
I live in Sydney. It has a rapidly growing theatre scene, wonderful cafes and bars, and also some of the best beaches. Also it’s close to my family in Newcastle, and you’re never that far from a Frozen Yoghurt café at any given time which is very important.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Writing and performing musical comedy full time – it’s the only thing I can do so I don’t have much choice really.

Slumberland

Featuring a band and a program of songs ranging in style from jazz to Broadway to folk, songwriter, pianist and singer Sarah Gaul is excited to be returning for her second Sydney Fringe season. Sharp, funny, surprising and moving, Slumberland is a brand new all-original show from one of Australia’s most exciting emerging comediennes.

Dates: 24th, 25th and 26th September, 2015
Time: 8.30pm
Duration: 75 minutes
Venue: The Sound Lounge at the Seymour Centre, cnr Cleveland St and City Road, Chippendale

Bookings: www.seymourcentre.com

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