SameSame.com.au ~ Inside Out Australia

A broadcaster, television entertainer, theater writer, novelist, newspaper columnist and a passionately political speaker, Rachel Berger is so much more than just one of Australia’s most highly regarded and recognised comedy talents. On stage, screen, radio, print and in life, Rachel Berger is a hilariously funny woman, and in the most natural way. Right from the moment we start our interview, she’s got a few throw away lines that are just ordinary part of her conversation that have me giggling.

“Laughter is very powerful in that it is the one thing that everyone understands,” she explains. “It breaks downs barriers and defences and makes people more open to things… to life. It also brings light, if you know what I mean. It’s why I love what I do.”

Rachel Berger and I catch up for our chat a little earlier than expected, on the eve of World AIDS Day. Unfortunately her mother is ill and she is understandably concerned about that. She also expresses disappointment that as a result she will be missing out on participating in the World AIDS Day memorial ceremony in Victoria – the first she has missed in over a decade.

“I’m heart broken that I’m not going to be [at the ceremony]. But in this case, family has to come first. Family is the only reason that I wouldn’t be there.”

Berger is a passionate supporter of many causes, but in particular she has had a long association with World AIDS Day and the HIV / AIDS cause. It began around 1988, when Berger had only just started performing as a comedian. She was asked to participate in a HIV/AIDS fundraising and awareness event called A Night Of Infectious Laughter. It was just years after the first official reports of the AIDS epidemic in Australia, and there was a lot of fear still in the air surrounding HIV and those who had it. Berger said a resounding ‘yes’ to be involved.

“People back then thought that if you did a gig like that, that you were positive yourself – there was so much fear around HIV and even just the associations with people who had the disease. So the organisers initially had a bit of trouble securing talent for the shows,” says Berger.
So why did wasn’t she scared?

“I’m a child of Holocaust survivor parents… trust me, I understand how ignorant people can be when they are scared. Sometimes people can’t see the woods from the trees.”

Shortly after that gig she was approached by John Wain, who now manages gay nightclub The Market, and who back managed the Laird Hotel. Wain asked her to perform at the Laird as part of World AIDS Day. Again she said ‘yes’ and was one of the first women ever let into the men’s only gay bar.

“I saw through the paranoia surrounding it all… There were all these men, banding together in a mixture of community, social and political awareness… I felt I belonged there,” explains Berger.

“I was really moved by intense passion, politics and togetherness that I saw in the gay community at that time. It was really something… it still is in many ways. I felt drawn to that. I was instantly accepted for who I was, and I felt the same reciprocated acceptance. That’s really when I became involved in World AIDS Day, and I’ve continued to be involved ever since.”

We talk about how we both lived through a time when it seemed like entire groups of people suddenly disappeared. We talk about how best friends, family and partners so quickly and suddenly died from HIV in the late 80’s and 90’s, and how much that devastated the community.

“People might be living longer and healthier lives these
days, but the battle is still far from over… The 80’s and 90’s were tough. The world lost a lot of amazing people from HIV – they were great people… people who really immersed themselves in life. They were writers, artists, designers, creative people, passionate people, political people… and in more basic human terms, they were brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers… ” explains Berger,

“I’m remembering dear friends [by participating in World AIDS Day], and in my own way I hope I’m playing a part in raising awareness about HIV through my stories and comedy, both in the community and in the mainstream, and celebrating the lives that have already left us.”

Berger’s connection to the gay community and the AIDS epidemic was an inspiration in her best selling hit book Whaddya Do You Mean You’re Allergic To Rubber? published back in 2001. It was a tongue in cheek satirical conspiracy tale of sex, power and greed that surrounds an HIV epidemic and the way it’s handled by the government and society. It was far from the feminist sex-fest romp that Penguin Books was expecting – the kind of schlock that filled the shelves at the time in a sea of pink and yellow cover art. Berger’s offering was covered in the bold colours of Wonder Woman, and offered her signature caustic comic style which still makes her a hit. It’s a style that carries over into all her work and appearances from Rove, to Good Morning Australia, to her columns in The Age and to the four solo shows that she’s taken to the Edinburgh Festival.

Check out Rachel at the 2007 Cracker Comedy Festival, talking about role models:

In 2008 she wrote and starred in Hold The Pickle; a one woman show at La Mama Theatre which sold out, which had a return season at Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne. The play chronicles the journey of her immigrant parents through World War II, telling their harrowing story of precarious survival as Jews in German-occupied Poland, before emigrating to Israel and finally to Australia. While the show was funny, the emphasis was much more on performance, and it was really her ‘theatre’ acting debut. The show was a hit here in Australia, and it’s a work that Berger is most proud of. She is excited about her plans to take the production to New York next year.

She also has an upcoming gig in December that she’s very chuffed about, called Who Moved My Stiletto? which will play at the infamous Butterfly Club, which Berger calls ‘Melbourne’s castle of camp kitsch’. The show is set to be homegrown stand-up comedy designed perfectly “for anyone bored with reality TV, crap media and the promise of undying love”. According to the press release about the show, “No one will be evicted, offered a modelling contract or get a job with Donald Trump. No one will be weighed and start crying”.

“It’s been a couple of years since I did a proper stand up gig, and it’s definitely time to return. It’s going to be adult comedy, but not mindless smut or dirty comedy. When I say ‘adult’, I don’t necessarily mean X-rated, I mean comedy for the ‘adult thinking person’. I know there are some out there,” says Berger.

So in the span of her amazingly diverse career, is there anything that she’s always wanted to do that she hasn’t already?

“I could tell you a few things, but you probably couldn’t print that,” Berger jokes. “Seriously… hmmm I’ve always wanted to do a grown up show… like Chicago. It’s one of the few things that I haven’t done and I think it would be a great experience to be in a show like that… I’m definitely ready for it.”

Rachel Berger’s new stand up show Who Moved My Stiletto, plays at the infamous Butterfly Club from Thursday 17th – Saturday 19th December at 9pm.

World AIDS Day Memorial Ceremony is on Tuesday 1st December, from 5pm at the Positive Living Centre.