Ord Valley Muster: Side splitting-laughter at this year’s Comedy in the Park in Kununurra

It was a night of side-splitting laughter at Kununurra’s sold out Comedy in the Park, with a huge crowd of 900 turning out to enjoy of the highlights of the Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster.

The comedy line-up was hand-picked by the festival organisers to ensure the laughs were non-stop all night, and included comedians Steph Tisdell, Chris Franklin, Bev Killick and Fabian Woods.

It was a global audience at this year’s Comedy in the Park, with guests The Kimberley Echo spoke with hailing from across Australia and as far away as Oregon in the US.

Hosted by the hilarious self-confessed yobbo Chris Franklin, the crowd roared with laughter listening to his mischievous antics and epic stories, tapping into everyone’s inner bogan.

From his flannelette shirt to his double plugger thongs, Franklin’s “Hoganesque” style of comedy touched on the delicate issues of discovering he is one-sixteenth Aboriginal, booze and relationships.

“The audience was brilliant, we’ve had a great time up here, the Ord Valley Muster has looked after us well,” said Franklin.

A proud Noongar Yamatji man, Woods, who won the 2019 Deadly Funny National Awards, had the crowd chuckling with funny tales of traditional names and dances.

Bold, brassy and brutally honest, Killick had every woman shedding tears of laughter with her rough talking, soul-mama jokes about pilates-loving joggy mothers and grotty teenage boys.

Killick, who joined Steph Tisdell on a Ord River cruise with Triple J Cruises, said she loved being in Kununurra.

“The crowd was brilliant and I loved the cruise up the Ord River. We learned so much and this country up here is beautiful — we just love, love, love, nature,” said Killick.

Tisdell ended the show with her self-deprecating humour that kept audiences chuckling.

Finding the fun in everyday items, like crop tops, Tisdell ended Comedy in the Park on a high, with the audience calling for an encore.

Tisdell, a proud Ydinji woman, is one of the funniest Aboriginal comedians with a mission to empower those around her using comedy as a way to observe the world.

Next year’s Ord Valley Muster is scheduled for May 17-25.

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