Tackle Happy

Puppetry of the Penis, in which a pair of stark naked men on stage imitate a variety of things from a hamburger to the Eiffel Tower with their private parts (aka wedding tackle) would have to be the quintessential Australian contribution to the history of live cabaret - low budget dead-pan ribaldry that only a culture bereft of any sense of aethetics or propriety could come up with - and probably the greatest contribution to Australia's international image since Paul Hogan's wit graced our small screens. Sir Les Patterson would hypocritically denounce it but Barry Humphries would love it for its juvenile good-naturedness .

Another quintessential Aussie, comedian Mick Molloy also loved it and got behind Simon Morley and David Friend, the two blokes who in 1998 took their "dick tricks" on a national tour, promoting them on his syndicated radio show with Tony Martin and executive producing and directing this video documentary on the tour, although it's not clear what "directing" amounted to as Molloy clearly was not present whilst the filming was taking place. If you're curious about the live show or want to revisit it, this is, as they say, well worth a look.

 

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