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Rod Quantock
Bugger the Polar Bears, This is Serious

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Rod Quantock

The year was 1968. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assasinated, Nixon was elected. Saddam Hussein gained power in 1968. So did Yasir Arafat. And, closer to our hearts, it was the year Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was born.

Co-incidentally 1968 was the year that the award-winning Rod Quantock first strolled onto a stage. (‘Quantock is an amiable bufoon.’ The Melbourne Herald. 1968)

Ten tears later and Rod was opening Australia’s first performer owned and operated theatre restaurant, The Comedy Café & Banana Lounge. (‘Sophisticated satire, unpretentious, daffy… Quantock’s easy rambling fills the stage. Clever, simple and acid... a comedian for thinkers.’ The Melbourne Times, 1978)

Another decade on and Rod was the talk of the Edinburgh Festival and a Perrier Award nominee. (‘For sheer cheek and inventiveness, the amazing Rod Quantock must take the honours. Bizarre, fresh, theatrically dangerous, unpredictable.’ The Guardian, UK 1988)

In 1998 he was taking on the Kennett Government and selling out shows around the country. (‘We walked away entertained, reflective and finally, amazed. If you only see one comedy show this year, make it Rod Quantock.’ The Daily Telegraph, Sydney. 1998)

And he’s still at it today.

Rod pioneered stand-up comedy in Melbourne, turned public transport into a venue and among many other achievements, co-conceived and starred in ‘Australia, You’re Standing In It’, ABC-TV’s first Melbourne comedy production and the door-opener for much that followed.

“For more than thirty years he has remained a contemporary stand up comedian, evolving and staying at the forefront of the craft. That he continues to build new, younger audiences all the time is testament to one of the most impressive careers in Australian comedy.” Susan Provan, Director, Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Program Guide for this Presenter

Bugger the Polar Bears, This is Serious

Website: http://www.quantock.com.au/

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