Members of Melbourne comedy sketch troupe Aunty Donna hope 2014 will be the start of something special.
The diverse group of comedians, filmmakers, writers and music composers, including Werribee’s Mark Samual Bonanno, has been invited to perform at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival later this year.
The group recently returned to Melbourne after making its US debut at San Francisco’s SketchFest.
Troupe member Broden Kelly says this year is shapinπg up as the troupe’s biggest since it was formed two and a half years ago at Ballarat’s Federation University.
“We’re hoping the Fringe Festival and the shows in San Francisco will help us build ourselves outside the confines of Victoria,” Kelly says. “We’ve gone interstate once and this was the first time we’ve gone offshore.”
While in San Francisco, Aunty Donna performed two shows and played in a showcase for up-and-coming comedians.
Kelly says a highlight was opening for comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer for
The Simpsons, Dana Gould.
“The greatest support we had was on the second night when there was a good handful of people from America who came to see us.”
The troupe hopes to travel to Edinburgh in August, after being invited to perform at the Fringe Festival.
Kelly says that being able to perform at Gilded Balloon, on the same stage that launched the careers of Russell Brand and Tim Minchin, would “vindicate” the troupe’s hard work. “[Playing at the Gilded Balloon] has come early in our career so it’s a remarkable feeling. If we do get on the plane and we do land [in Edinburgh], I’ll feel elation.”
To help the troupe raise enough money to get to Edinburgh, New Zealand fan Joel Spencer has designed a tea towel that is being sold on Aunty Donna’s website.
The troupe will also perform 22 shows at Trades Hall, from March 27-April 20, as part of this year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival.
