“Me and my friend were doing some postering last night and we ended up in a little skate-park in Coburg – that’s where I live,” Blake explains. “We were rehearsing and we got a little bit loud. A guy came out of his house, probably about twenty or thirty metres away, he started yelling, ‘Fuck off! Get out of here’. I was like, ‘Yeah sorry mate, we’re on our way off’ and he started sprinting towards me. He got up to me and yelled, ‘This is Coburg!’ – that was his threat to me. I just thought he’d been watching 300 – this is Sparta! He called me a hairy-headed gorilla and told me to get the fuck out of Australia. I told him I am Australian, to which he responded, ‘No you’re not. You’re from dickland,’” he laughs. “He seemed like the kind of guy that could inhale an entire cigarette in just one go whilst curb stomping your head in. So, that’ll probably end up in the show.”
Clearly sourcing some cracking comical content in the final weeks leading up to his show, Blake ensures audiences that his comedic presence wasn’t immediately apparent and that just like his material, it’s something he’s been developing from a young age. “Five for me is the age where you’re not necessarily ready, but you can start to become ready,” he says. “No one is born ready, you’re pooing your pants all the time and you have to rely on your parents. I think five is the age where your parents decide they’re going to let you go out into the world.”
Taking no time at all to step out on stage, the local performer was staring in his very own shows before he finished primary school. “I probably did my first little bit in a school talent show in grade three,” he admits. “I’d just recently seen The Umbilical Brothers Speedmouse on DVD, that’s basically the show that got me into comedy.
“Being an 18 year-old and having just finished year twelve, there’s obviously a bit of material about my genitalia and my mother – my mother’s a big part of the show,” he laughs while reflecting on his own sentence. “It’s mainly just a sum-up of how I’m feeling and different thoughts that have occurred over the past few months.”
Plucking inspiration from real life pleasures and perils, Blake’s stories are delivered in many forms. A truly audio-visual experience, Ready Since I Was Five will incorporate spoken word, a selection of songs and skits. “It has stand-up and musical comedy and I do acting as well, so I like the sketch side of things,” he discloses. “During the Fringe Festival, I think the best compliment I received was that it didn’t feel like an hour. I like to have that variety and I enjoy exploring all those different facets of comedy.”
While Blake’s range is evident and impressive, he admits his age is often what draws people’s attention and that it is incredibly gratifying when his audience is able to look past it. “I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘You’re very funny, not only for a young comedian but just a comedian in general’, which is what you need as a young comedian, to get recognised not just for your age but for your talent.”
With an obvious passion for his craft and a sheer desire to perfect it, Blake Everett is in no rush to return to his studies. Opting for a gap year to focus on performing, the up and comer has his family, friends and a budding acting career to support him on his journey to comedic success. “Mum has always said ‘Do what you want to do, just go for it’; she comes to nearly all of my gigs,” he states proudly. “She’ll be helping at the door on the night – I’m not paying her, she just wants to be involved. My dad likes it too but he’s a bit more realistic. When I told him he replied, ‘Are you sure? How’s that going to work out for you?’ – but he is quite supportive, he’s even got the poster up on his fridge.”
BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON
