Mozart meets Blink-182

Up-and-coming comedian Callum Stratford is gearing up for a captivating performance of his experimental stand-up comedy show, Mozart-182, at East Melbourne’s Tasma Terrace from March 27 to April 7, as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF).

Bringing together his seemingly contrasting interests in Mozart and Blink-182, Mr Stratford seamlessly blends the classical and the contemporary to create a performance that embraces the “chaos on stage”.

“I recently studied at the Philippe Gaulier Clown School in France and the philosophy of that is about having the most fun you can have on stage, finding joy and finding pleasure,” Mr Stratford said.

“I was sitting down to write a show and I thought about where I get the most pleasure from in my life and how I can represent that on stage – I really love Mozart and I also really love Blink-182.”

Mozart-182 explores the “series of opposites” inherent in life, combining sampled music from both Mozart and Blink-182, along with Mr Stratford’s own musical compositions.

“Amazing things can happen and then straight away something could go downhill, it’s like that whole pain versus pleasure or sunshine then rain – life is a series of ups and downs, opposites and chaos,” he said.

Stratford’s comedic journey, originally rooted in aspirations of acting, took a turn towards comedy when he realised that acting required him to “take myself too seriously.”

Having been a frequent performer at MICF since 2021, Mr Stratford is excited to bring Mozart-182 to Melbourne audiences.

“My favourite thing about performing would be connecting with an audience and being present in the room with them,” he told Inner City News. “So much of the world can be so hard and devoid of pleasure and joy, but sometimes it can be  full of life.”

Reopening as a venue for MICF after shutting down during COVID, the heritage-listed Tasma Terrace will transform into various theatre spaces throughout the festival, with Mozart-182 taking over the “music room”.

Mr Stratford encourages the local community to rally behind emerging artists during the month-long festival, so there can be “more Taylor Swift’s at the MCG”.

“The more effort we put into seeing great live comedy and great live shows, the more events we can have that are like the massive Taylor Swift weekend – keep going out and seeing emerging artists and keep supporting them and having fun with them.” •