A Netflix series was never part of the plan for Aunty Donna’s Zach Ruane.
The highly successful Australian comedy troupe had toured the USA extensively and pitched ideas to Hollywood production companies on multiple occasions, and, according to Ruane, he would have been content had it gone no further.
“That was the ceiling for me, so it was never a part of the plan to be over there making something,” he said.
“Hollywood or LA, that kind of world is very open to hearing you … and I was really chalking it up to say that I’d done it.”
So, when the streaming giant ordered a series from them, 2020’s Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun, it was at once a “strange”, “cool” and “inspiring” experience for Ruane.
Having performed their renowned high energy live shows for a decade and with a dedicated following already amassed on their wildly popular YouTube channel, their Netflix series has only expanded their audience further.
Later this year, the Melbourne-based troupe will tour Australia; their first all-new live show in three years.
The Magical Dead Cat Tour went on sale in June, and the appetite for Aunty Donna has never been stronger.
With the first show still a few months away, it’s a near sell-out across the country; three Canberra shows in October were filled in two days, which prompted them to book another for December.
After getting a heads-up that their following would grow substantially following Big Ol’ House of Fun, ticket sales exceeded their wildest expectations.
“We had a few shows ready to put on sale two months after launch … we ended up putting them on sale on day two, they sold out,” Ruane said.
“It was so, so mind blowing … it’s really cool.”
Returning to live performance is an exciting prospect for the troupe.
Having started out predominantly performing live, Ruane is eager to get back out there and reconnect with live audiences.
“It’s been by far the longest time we’ve had, and I’m just keen to get some new ideas out there,” he said. “It’s how we find most of our material.”
Big ol’ Parliament House of fun
Having achieved the enormous task of creating Big Ol’ House of Fun, the next step was always going to be a live show, according to Ruane.
“We told ourselves whatever happened, wherever we went, the next step would have to be a live show,” he said. “That’s where we get all our ideas from, and we used up everything and we were all out of ideas!”
Creating new comedy through the live show is the focus right now; for Ruane it’s “hard to say” what will follow.
“We never wanted to define ourselves by one thing,” he said.
“I’d love to do a film, I’m chomping at the bit to do that, or maybe just a completely different series and completely different concept.
“Once we’ve done the show, we’re just going to sit down and just go ‘alright, what do we want to do creatively’ and take it from there.”
For newer fans who are yet to catch a live performance, Ruane said it has the same core and spirit as their filmed content but is simultaneously a distinct product.
“It’s the three performers, it’s the same musician we make all our film stuff with, but it’s its own thing,” he said.
“We’ve been performing live the longest out of everything we do, so it’s very high energy, it’s intense and it’s loud.”
Having performed many shows in Canberra over the years, Ruane said he loves the crowd they draw here.
“It’s a really cool, young, very high energy crowd, which is really fun,” he said.
They’ve done multiple Canberra Comedy Festivals, and even performed a “really weird” show at Parliament House once.
“There were some really funny politicians that had booked in to watch our show for Screen Australia,” Ruane said, “there was a heads up that some of the kooky ones were coming.”
Nervous he would face awkward conversations with a few pollies afterward, Ruane was relieved to see their crowd was filled with younger staffers.
“They (politicians) ended up at a gig on the other side of the building thankfully,” he said.
Aunty Donna will perform their Magical Dead Cat Tour at Canberra Theatre, Tuesday 7 December 7.30pm; tickets here.
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