Aunty Donna

Aunty Donna

Aunty Donna (Mark Samual Bonanno, Zachary Ruane, Broden Kelly) performing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014
Medium Internet, theatre, television
Nationality Australian
Years active 2011–present[1]
Genres Surreal humour, parody
Members
  • Mark Bonanno
  • Broden Kelly
  • Zachary Ruane
  • Max Miller
  • Tom Armstrong
  • Sam Lingham
Former members
  • Joe Kocksy
  • Adrian Dean
Website auntydonna.com

Aunty Donna is an Australian absurdist comedy group from Melbourne. The group consists of Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane as writers and performers, director/writer Sam Lingham, filmmaker Max Miller, and Tom Armstrong.[2] Adrian Dean is a former member, in the capacity of writer and performer. It has performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne Fringe Festival. In 2015, it was one of five comedy groups chosen as part of ABC and Screen Australia's Fresh Blood Pilot Season joint initiative.[3]

History

Aunty Donna was originally formed in 2011 after its members met at the University of Ballarat's Arts Academy.

In 2012, its debut show, Aunty Donna in Pantsuits,[4] was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Golden Gibbo Award, and its second show, Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop,[5] debuted at the 2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival winning the People's Choice Award.

In December 2012, Aunty Donna created Aunty Donna's Rumpus Room, a seven-part web series which originally aired on C31 Melbourne and then on its YouTube channel.

2014 saw third live show, World's Greatest Showbag,[6] debut at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as a Best Of live show that debuted the group internationally at both SF Sketchfest[7] and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[8]

In 2015, Aunty Donna's self-titled live show toured around Australia at Adelaide Fringe Festival,[9] Melbourne International Comedy Festival,[10] and in Sydney as well as the UK at Edinburgh,[11] Soho Theatre and in Dartmouth. The group created Aunty Donna, a half-hour television pilot for the ABC and Screen Australia as part of the Fresh Blood Pilot Season comedy initiative, as well as 1999,[12] a ten-part web series exclusively for YouTube as part of Screen Australia and Google’s Skip Ahead funding, which was released in early 2016.

The group began a podcast midway through 2016. The podcast involves random riffing and improvised segments. The podcast occasionally includes exiting special guests such as comedians Ben Russel, Demi Lardner, Michelle Brasier, and others.

In 2017, Aunty Donna debuted its new seven-part web series, Aunty Donna's Ripper Aussie Summer. It also announced a television series with Australian online streaming service Stan.

References

  1. ↑ Vreeland, Dellaram (22 January 2014). "Ballarat trained comedy troupe Aunty Donna heads overseas". The Courier. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Brookfield, Joanne (17 September 2015). "A comedian's life is not all fun and games". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "More Fresh Blood Coming to ABC iview". Screen Australia. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Royall, Ian (1 April 2012). "Review: Aunty Donna In Pant Suits". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Humphreys, Nicole (8 October 2012). "Review: Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop". Crikey. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Walker, Lynette (14 April 2014). "Review: Aunty Donna’s World’s Greatest Showbag". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Dana Gould Hour / Aunty Donna Review". SF Sketchfest. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Boyd, Milo (1 January 1970). "Review: Aunty Donna". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Nelligan, Katelin (23 February 2015). "Review: Aunty Donna". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Schnabel, Ali (1 April 2015). "Review: Aunty Donna". The Music. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Griffin, Steve (20 August 2015). "Review: Aunty Donna". Edinburgh 49. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "5 Australian Youtubers To Share $500,000 In Google And Screen Australia’s Talent Development Initiative, Skip Ahead". Screen Australia. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
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