November 18, 2024 • 12 mins
Rhys Darby is returning to his roots.
In the last decade, Kiwis have gotten more used to seeing the comedian on the big screen than on the stage, but that’s about to change.
Darby has announced his first comedy tour in more than a decade, returning to Kiwi stages next year with ‘The Legend Returns’.
He told Mike Hosking that he can’t wait to hit the stage again.
“I had the most fun, like in the last six months, getting ready for the show,” Darby said.
“I’m still working on material, and now I’m really, really confident.”
Darby’s been doing a few gigs in the US as he prepares, but the show he plans to bring our way is still being created and workshopped.
“I found out recently that I’m really good at creating stuff on the spot for my shows,” he revealed.
“A lot of my previous shows were quite scripted, and they would have a narrative and I, you know, but this one... I’m really feeling much more loosey goosey and having fun with the audience.”
Tickets for 'The Legend Returns' are on sale from today.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rhees Darby back to where it all again. We've got
the first comedies who are coming in a decade, underselling
his undoubted talent. He's called it the legend. Returns are
Reez Darby is with us out of ol A good morning,
Good morning. I have many probing questions to ask you,
but first one is fabulous choice on the color of
tiles in what I'm assuming is your kitchen.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you. Yes, I guess my wife has credit for that, Rosie.
Although we do we do chat, but that's that's Yeah,
we have a lot of people that come in. It's
not really an American thing having tiles in your in
your kitchen.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So you've renovated, Yeah, we did this about a year ago.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, we're happy with it.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Good on you as you should be in beautiful covering
behind it with the glass and the whole thing. Things
clearly going well for your Reese, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, you know, you know you've got to I mean,
so many everything's on zoom now, you can't have a
bad no.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Background, No, no, that's exactly right. Talk to me about
you're in Los Angeles, I should explain. Talk to me
about what Eva Longoria described the other day as she
left America post the election. She's now living in Spain,
and I think she's claiming Italy as well. But she
called America dystopian. Do you do you see it as
dystopian currently?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I think everyone's on edge. I think, you know, it's
really really divided here. I live in California. I live
in a bubble. It's almost like a separate place really
to the rest of America. We like what we have here.
We all get on. I mean, yes, there's a few differences.
There's you know, Democrats and there's Republicans. But I think,
(01:47):
you know, it was a huge shock for most of
us as to what happened in the election, and people
are running around, some of them are really panicking like
headless chickens. And I mean, I get it. We're in
a real state of flux. I just you know, there's
no use cutting your head off and running away.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Though no exactly. And as they will tell you, the
sun shines, and I can see it shining on the
left hand side of your face, on the beautiful California
sun shines every day intensely. Look at this, Oh oh, Breece,
is that a pool.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Out the back that's my pool. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
See, do you know what I like about your pool?
Even though I've only just like what you have in California,
and what we don't have in this country are proper
regulations and if you don't want to fence your pool,
you don't have to fence your pool. And that's a
good looking pool.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, no, we're not putting a fence around that one.
It's beautiful. It's an old, like nineteen seventies style. It's
been here for ages. This is an old place that
we're living in. That's one of those pools that you
imagine they would have drained and they would have done
a bit of skateboarding and back in the day.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, exactly. Have you renovated that as well? If you
if you put little special dolphin shaped tiles in there,
or a guitar or something.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
We've just that that's isaz is At the moment, it's
getting old of it, but we yeah, it's it's an old,
old system out there. But she still goes, do you
have a pull man?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
By the way, that classic California.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I got a pool? No, yeah, that's part of California.
That's the la thing. When you move into a house
a dude will just turn up the next week and
he'll go, oh, I'm doing your pull, mate, okay, and
you meet them and then you know you've got the
same with the gardeners and things.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Oh, sorry, the stuff you've got the gardener. How many
staff have you got? Let's just run through their names
and wish they may have a birthday.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, I'm not doing that. I'm not not doing that.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Come on, speaking speaking of your birthday, fifty was that
significant for you?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It was? Yeah, I mean, definitely, it's fifty. It was
upsetting because you think, I mean, my forties were great,
and I feel like you know, I was. It was
just a great decade. But when you hit fifty, I
felt like, well, that's it. I've finished my cool forties,
my naughty forties. Now I'm fifty. But you know, in
this in the last six months, I've really started to
(04:10):
own it and accept it, and I'm now okay, I'm okay.
I'm still very childlike, but I'm okay to be and
I feel good about being an elder statesman.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
As you should. The Business of the Two, I like
the title The Legend Returns. I mean, you didn't want
to oversell it. Obviously you didn't want to go crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
No, No, we bandied about with the idea of the
genius as back, but I think I think we landed
on the legend simply because, like I'm fifty, I've done
my I've done my I've done my time on Maple Drive,
I've treated the boards. People know who I am, and
I've got a lot to show for it. So when
(04:52):
I jump back on these stand up arena, I had
the most fun like in the last six months getting
ready for the show. I'm still working on theial and
I'm now really really confident and can't wait to hit
the stage again.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So the show is already, it's out there, and you've
been doing it therefore oiling it up and getting it
slick for us.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
No, not at all. It's still being created as we speak.
So I'm doing gigs here in the US where I'm
working on material. I've found out recently that I'm really
good at creating stuff on the spot. Well in my shows.
A lot of my previous shows were quite scripted and
they would have a narrative and I you know, but
this one, I'm really feeling much more loosey goosey and
(05:36):
having fun with the audience. So yeah, I'm still pulling
it together.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So when you go to how does that work? So
do they Obviously they're fans of yours. The vibe is
positive in the room. Therefore they're giving you good feedback.
When you get that good feedback, as a performer, you're going, yep,
I can, I can.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I can run with this a bit, one hundred percent.
I really need the energy of the crowd. So sometimes
I've done gigs here and little comedy clubs where no
one knows who I am, and they're used to a
us like an American stand up standing there with the
mic talking about whatever. I come out and I prounce
about and I do a bit of movement and weird
(06:11):
noises and some people just can't quite fathom it. So
I found this much better for me to perform to
my audience and they know what to expect they and
then they really give me the energy and let me
create on the spot. So that's kind of what it's
all about.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So it sort of answers the question. But was there
was sort of a trepidacious vibe for a while there.
You're thinking, well, I'm going back, it's been a while.
Do I still have it, Will they still love me?
All that sort of stuff?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, definitely. But last year I did a best of
twenty five years in stand up show where I selected
some of my favorite pieces and I did a UK
tour with that, just a small one, and a whole
new level of audience came out that haven't seen me,
my old audience from the Concord and then a whole
(07:01):
new wave of people from our flagman's death. And yeah,
that really invigorated me to want to do a brand
new show. So that's after last year's too. I just
started writing a new one because I wanted to get
back into it again. So I feel, yeah, I feel
fresh and new again.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
What's the UK connection specifically because I know you're coming here,
but also you're doing UK. I mean it's a long
list of places. You're at Ali Pelly for goodness sake
in London, the famous Ali Pali.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I love that venue. I played it last year, so
you know, not forget that I did. You know about
eight years of my entire stand up career I was
in the UK. So I worked myself up from from
Edinburgh doing small rooms to then hitting London and then
playing every comedy club in London, there's over three hundred
of those, and then working up getting into the headline
(07:52):
spot over a period of eight years. And so they
do know me on the stand up circuit there, and yeah,
probably because I played Edinburgh for like six or seven
years in a row as well that I'm known as
a stand up in that country. So it's kind of
like they're my people in terms of the fact that
(08:13):
my style of comedy is very very English, very British,
kind of silly Spike Milligan, Monty Python esque. So I
think they just get me and yeah, they're a fantastic crowd.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So and we're your people too, though, oh one hundred.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I mean New Zealand first, of course, that's why I'm
coming to New Zealand first. But in some ways it's
kind of like there's that Kiwi thing of like, all right, mate,
what have you got this time? They're a little bit
of a tougher crowd. You know, it's like playing to
your family, so they're like, oh, yeah, he's just being
a dick again. What have you actually got to say? Mate?
But I think there's a warmth of New Zealand of
(08:53):
being proud of me, and when I come home, they
all come out and we're kind of just have fun together.
Because of my style of comedy, there's nothing offensive. It's
just about pure mirth and silly fun. And I think
that's what we need right now.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Good And you're a little bit lucky in that sense,
because these are these are these are awkward times for
some comedians, aren't they depending on what you can say,
what you can't say. Will you get canceled, will they laugh,
will they hate you? Whatever?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, definitely, And I think because I don't really open
any doors into something that might get me canceled. You know,
I'm not controversial. I'm just very lighthearted and it's about fun,
so's it's almost you know, I don't want to say family,
(09:42):
but it's kind of definitely you're not going to and
I'm not going to tread on anyone's toes on stage
apart from my own.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Exactly. Have you noticed by the way, I read something
really interesting the other day and I didn't realize it
because of the strike in your place, Hollywood and the
right it's never come back. I didn't really. I thought
everything would come back, and it would be the production,
the number of productions, the amount of production, the spend.
It's just never been the same. Do you get that sense?
(10:12):
Is that real?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Absolutely? Yeah, it's very slow to return. It has returned,
but not to the full extent. Definitely not, and it
doesn't look like it's going to. And of course we're
caught up in the artificial intelligence world as well, and
so not only it's a lot of the production people
behind the scenes that are put the thing together, they
(10:38):
are just not getting the work anymore because it's all
being done on computers and things. So I think a
lot of people have left LA left Hollywood because of
the industry is not what it was. And yeah, it's
the work is far and few between. I've got to
be honest, and so thank god I'm a comedian as well,
and I can get it back out and and do
(10:59):
my my original art form. If I was an actor,
i'd be I'd be a lot more worried. I mean,
I am an actor, but i'd be If I was
just an actor, I would be. I would certainly be
more worried because the work is not there, and a
lot of it is happening outside of the States, which
is an advantage to me as well. I can you know,
(11:20):
things are happening in New Zealand, Australia. There's stuff filming,
but for people that are here, you know they're finding
the workers is just not there right now.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Fantastic You start a Christmas shopping.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, I have because I love it. I love this
season and you can put everything else out of the
way and just think of joy. And I like going
around the shops and seeing all the Christmas decorations, and
of course here in LA they do a big job
on it. So yeah, I'm looking forward to coming home
for Christmas. That's my big that's my next big thing.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Fantastic A key We some of you can't be and
we're looking forward to these shows next year. Of course.
Lovely to catch up with you and go well and
say hi to all your staff and you pull me
and all that sort of stuff, and maybe we'll talk
when you get here.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
All right, Thanks Mike, There we go.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Ruth Darby out of Los Angeles. A great interview, Mike.
Great to hear from the lad all the way from
the Riverina Primary School in PACKERINGA thank you mark for
those of you texting on the tiles saying it's too visual.
An interview. They're light green tiles, there's subway type tiles.
Who doesn't love a subway type tile? But that video
will be up online. Win's it up on lines up
online sometime soon. It'll be up online. It's going this morning.
(12:26):
It's going to be this morning. The shows are in
March next year, Wellington, christ jurch Auckland. You go to
Reyes Darby dot com or indeed ticket.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Master for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live
to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Rhees Darby back to where it all again. We've got
the first comedies who are coming in a decade, underselling
his undoubted talent. He's called it the legend. Returns are
Reez Darby is with us out of ol A good morning,
Good morning. I have many probing questions to ask you,
but first one is fabulous choice on the color of
tiles in what I'm assuming is your kitchen.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you. Yes, I guess my wife has credit for that, Rosie.
Although we do we do chat, but that's that's Yeah,
we have a lot of people that come in. It's
not really an American thing having tiles in your in
your kitchen.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So you've renovated, Yeah, we did this about a year ago.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, we're happy with it.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Good on you as you should be in beautiful covering
behind it with the glass and the whole thing. Things
clearly going well for your Reese, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, you know, you know you've got to I mean,
so many everything's on zoom now, you can't have a
bad no.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Background, No, no, that's exactly right. Talk to me about
you're in Los Angeles, I should explain. Talk to me
about what Eva Longoria described the other day as she
left America post the election. She's now living in Spain,
and I think she's claiming Italy as well. But she
called America dystopian. Do you do you see it as
dystopian currently?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I think everyone's on edge. I think, you know, it's
really really divided here. I live in California. I live
in a bubble. It's almost like a separate place really
to the rest of America. We like what we have here.
We all get on. I mean, yes, there's a few differences.
There's you know, Democrats and there's Republicans. But I think,
(01:47):
you know, it was a huge shock for most of
us as to what happened in the election, and people
are running around, some of them are really panicking like
headless chickens. And I mean, I get it. We're in
a real state of flux. I just you know, there's
no use cutting your head off and running away.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Though no exactly. And as they will tell you, the
sun shines, and I can see it shining on the
left hand side of your face, on the beautiful California
sun shines every day intensely. Look at this, Oh oh, Breece,
is that a pool.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Out the back that's my pool. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
See, do you know what I like about your pool?
Even though I've only just like what you have in California,
and what we don't have in this country are proper
regulations and if you don't want to fence your pool,
you don't have to fence your pool. And that's a
good looking pool.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yeah, no, we're not putting a fence around that one.
It's beautiful. It's an old, like nineteen seventies style. It's
been here for ages. This is an old place that
we're living in. That's one of those pools that you
imagine they would have drained and they would have done
a bit of skateboarding and back in the day.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, exactly. Have you renovated that as well? If you
if you put little special dolphin shaped tiles in there,
or a guitar or something.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
We've just that that's isaz is At the moment, it's
getting old of it, but we yeah, it's it's an old,
old system out there. But she still goes, do you
have a pull man?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
By the way, that classic California.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I got a pool? No, yeah, that's part of California.
That's the la thing. When you move into a house
a dude will just turn up the next week and
he'll go, oh, I'm doing your pull, mate, okay, and
you meet them and then you know you've got the
same with the gardeners and things.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Oh, sorry, the stuff you've got the gardener. How many
staff have you got? Let's just run through their names
and wish they may have a birthday.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, I'm not doing that. I'm not not doing that.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Come on, speaking speaking of your birthday, fifty was that
significant for you?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It was? Yeah, I mean, definitely, it's fifty. It was
upsetting because you think, I mean, my forties were great,
and I feel like you know, I was. It was
just a great decade. But when you hit fifty, I
felt like, well, that's it. I've finished my cool forties,
my naughty forties. Now I'm fifty. But you know, in
this in the last six months, I've really started to
(04:10):
own it and accept it, and I'm now okay, I'm okay.
I'm still very childlike, but I'm okay to be and
I feel good about being an elder statesman.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
As you should. The Business of the Two, I like
the title The Legend Returns. I mean, you didn't want
to oversell it. Obviously you didn't want to go crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
No, No, we bandied about with the idea of the
genius as back, but I think I think we landed
on the legend simply because, like I'm fifty, I've done
my I've done my I've done my time on Maple Drive,
I've treated the boards. People know who I am, and
I've got a lot to show for it. So when
(04:52):
I jump back on these stand up arena, I had
the most fun like in the last six months getting
ready for the show. I'm still working on theial and
I'm now really really confident and can't wait to hit
the stage again.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So the show is already, it's out there, and you've
been doing it therefore oiling it up and getting it
slick for us.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
No, not at all. It's still being created as we speak.
So I'm doing gigs here in the US where I'm
working on material. I've found out recently that I'm really
good at creating stuff on the spot. Well in my shows.
A lot of my previous shows were quite scripted and
they would have a narrative and I you know, but
this one, I'm really feeling much more loosey goosey and
(05:36):
having fun with the audience. So yeah, I'm still pulling
it together.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
So when you go to how does that work? So
do they Obviously they're fans of yours. The vibe is
positive in the room. Therefore they're giving you good feedback.
When you get that good feedback, as a performer, you're going, yep,
I can, I can.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I can run with this a bit, one hundred percent.
I really need the energy of the crowd. So sometimes
I've done gigs here and little comedy clubs where no
one knows who I am, and they're used to a
us like an American stand up standing there with the
mic talking about whatever. I come out and I prounce
about and I do a bit of movement and weird
(06:11):
noises and some people just can't quite fathom it. So
I found this much better for me to perform to
my audience and they know what to expect they and
then they really give me the energy and let me
create on the spot. So that's kind of what it's
all about.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So it sort of answers the question. But was there
was sort of a trepidacious vibe for a while there.
You're thinking, well, I'm going back, it's been a while.
Do I still have it, Will they still love me?
All that sort of stuff?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, definitely. But last year I did a best of
twenty five years in stand up show where I selected
some of my favorite pieces and I did a UK
tour with that, just a small one, and a whole
new level of audience came out that haven't seen me,
my old audience from the Concord and then a whole
(07:01):
new wave of people from our flagman's death. And yeah,
that really invigorated me to want to do a brand
new show. So that's after last year's too. I just
started writing a new one because I wanted to get
back into it again. So I feel, yeah, I feel
fresh and new again.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
What's the UK connection specifically because I know you're coming here,
but also you're doing UK. I mean it's a long
list of places. You're at Ali Pelly for goodness sake
in London, the famous Ali Pali.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I love that venue. I played it last year, so
you know, not forget that I did. You know about
eight years of my entire stand up career I was
in the UK. So I worked myself up from from
Edinburgh doing small rooms to then hitting London and then
playing every comedy club in London, there's over three hundred
of those, and then working up getting into the headline
(07:52):
spot over a period of eight years. And so they
do know me on the stand up circuit there, and yeah,
probably because I played Edinburgh for like six or seven
years in a row as well that I'm known as
a stand up in that country. So it's kind of
like they're my people in terms of the fact that
(08:13):
my style of comedy is very very English, very British,
kind of silly Spike Milligan, Monty Python esque. So I
think they just get me and yeah, they're a fantastic crowd.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So and we're your people too, though, oh one hundred.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I mean New Zealand first, of course, that's why I'm
coming to New Zealand first. But in some ways it's
kind of like there's that Kiwi thing of like, all right, mate,
what have you got this time? They're a little bit
of a tougher crowd. You know, it's like playing to
your family, so they're like, oh, yeah, he's just being
a dick again. What have you actually got to say? Mate?
But I think there's a warmth of New Zealand of
(08:53):
being proud of me, and when I come home, they
all come out and we're kind of just have fun together.
Because of my style of comedy, there's nothing offensive. It's
just about pure mirth and silly fun. And I think
that's what we need right now.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Good And you're a little bit lucky in that sense,
because these are these are these are awkward times for
some comedians, aren't they depending on what you can say,
what you can't say. Will you get canceled, will they laugh,
will they hate you? Whatever?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, definitely, And I think because I don't really open
any doors into something that might get me canceled. You know,
I'm not controversial. I'm just very lighthearted and it's about fun,
so's it's almost you know, I don't want to say family,
(09:42):
but it's kind of definitely you're not going to and
I'm not going to tread on anyone's toes on stage
apart from my own.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Exactly. Have you noticed by the way, I read something
really interesting the other day and I didn't realize it
because of the strike in your place, Hollywood and the
right it's never come back. I didn't really. I thought
everything would come back, and it would be the production,
the number of productions, the amount of production, the spend.
It's just never been the same. Do you get that sense?
(10:12):
Is that real?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Absolutely? Yeah, it's very slow to return. It has returned,
but not to the full extent. Definitely not, and it
doesn't look like it's going to. And of course we're
caught up in the artificial intelligence world as well, and
so not only it's a lot of the production people
behind the scenes that are put the thing together, they
(10:38):
are just not getting the work anymore because it's all
being done on computers and things. So I think a
lot of people have left LA left Hollywood because of
the industry is not what it was. And yeah, it's
the work is far and few between. I've got to
be honest, and so thank god I'm a comedian as well,
and I can get it back out and and do
(10:59):
my my original art form. If I was an actor,
i'd be I'd be a lot more worried. I mean,
I am an actor, but i'd be If I was
just an actor, I would be. I would certainly be
more worried because the work is not there, and a
lot of it is happening outside of the States, which
is an advantage to me as well. I can you know,
(11:20):
things are happening in New Zealand, Australia. There's stuff filming,
but for people that are here, you know they're finding
the workers is just not there right now.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Fantastic You start a Christmas shopping.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, I have because I love it. I love this
season and you can put everything else out of the
way and just think of joy. And I like going
around the shops and seeing all the Christmas decorations, and
of course here in LA they do a big job
on it. So yeah, I'm looking forward to coming home
for Christmas. That's my big that's my next big thing.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Fantastic A key We some of you can't be and
we're looking forward to these shows next year. Of course.
Lovely to catch up with you and go well and
say hi to all your staff and you pull me
and all that sort of stuff, and maybe we'll talk
when you get here.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
All right, Thanks Mike, There we go.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Ruth Darby out of Los Angeles. A great interview, Mike.
Great to hear from the lad all the way from
the Riverina Primary School in PACKERINGA thank you mark for
those of you texting on the tiles saying it's too visual.
An interview. They're light green tiles, there's subway type tiles.
Who doesn't love a subway type tile? But that video
will be up online. Win's it up on lines up
online sometime soon. It'll be up online. It's going this morning.
(12:26):
It's going to be this morning. The shows are in
March next year, Wellington, christ jurch Auckland. You go to
Reyes Darby dot com or indeed ticket.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Master for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live
to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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