ZENOBIA FROST chats with Brisbane Comedy Festival guest ASHER TRELEAVEN about his new show, Secret Door.

ZENOBIA FROST: Your background is in circus. How did you get into comedy?

ASHER TREVEAVEN: I always wanted to work in comedy, but it took me a while to get the cojones together to do it. It’s a challenging industry, but coming through circus was a great way to go. Comedy’s really a scary medium to work in, and audiences are pretty honest. Something’s either funny or it’s not funny; there’s no grey area like in contemporary theatre, where you can flounce about for 45 minutes and play on their inability to understand you. They will just not laugh, and you will be alone on stage.

ZF: What’s behind the secret door?

AT: I find the whole process of choosing a title for a show more difficult than it needs to be, so I decided three years ago that I would call all my shows Something Something Door. Steppenwolf, a book by Hermann Hesse, inspired Secret Door. There’s a passage from Steppenwolf that really stayed with me, where he finds this magic theatre for madmen. One early-morning stroll, I walked past a door that said Secret Theatre for Madmen. I liked the evocative nature of Secret Door. The show itself is aesthetically very dreamlike; you enter a bizarre little world.

ZF: How does Secret Door explore masculinity?

AT: The show is all about macho culture and sex. A lot of the stories from the show are taken from late-night experiences, watching how men act late at night – especially towards each other – and the kinds of experiences I’ve had late at night with drunk bogan douchebags. For instance, I question why men are so violent to each other, and give the audience advice on how to get out of a fight using the tools of a magician, like misdirection or dazzling the opponent by carrying a handful of glitter and blowing it into their face as they try to beat you up.

ZF: What else does the show tackle?

AH: I talk about homophobia, violence and sex. I talk about my own experiences, being a straight guy in queer culture. I exist in a place where people really don’t care who you fuck, but there’s still a really strong vein of homophobia in Australia, especially in macho Aussie culture. As for sex, I look at the paranoia that goes with all the sexual advertising men cop all the time now – and I give a reading from a Mills & Boon as a kind of bible of how to do sex for someone else.

ZF: What does make a man manly?

AT: I think it’s an impossible question. I find it easier poke fun at what makes a man into an arsehole than it is to talk about what makes a man a good man. Certainly, you can make choices that will make you a better man. For instance, if you’re considering drinking your 18^th Bacardi Breezer and then peeing on someone’s front door, that decision may paint you as a bit of a wanker. I personally think it’s best to strike a balance between being a caring person and having a strong personality.

ASHER TRELEAVEN appears at Brisbane Powerhouse from Mar 15 to 20. BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL runs until Mar 27. Ph: 3358 8600 / www.brisbandpowerhouse.org

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